UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


f  0  2  1      8 


o 


AMERICAN  FORTUNES 


AND 


A  SERIES  OF  SKETCHES 

OF 

MANY  OF  THE   NOTABLE    MERCHANTS,    MANUFACTURERS,  CAPITALISTS, 

RAILROAD  PRESIDENTS,  BONANZA  AND  CATTLE  KINGS 

OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

BY 


.  )|ollou><nf. 


AUTHOR  OF   "THE  t.ADIKS  OF  THE  WHITE    HOUSE,"    "AN    HOUR  WITH    CHARLOTTE  BRONTE;   OR,    FLOWERS 

FROM    A    YORKSHIRE    MOOR,"   "A   BIOGRAPHY    OF  ADELAIDE    NEIIfiON,"   "THE    HEARTHSTONE; 

OR,   LIFE  AT  HOME,"   "THE  MOTHERS    OF   GREAT    MEN    AND  WOMEN,"    "CHINESE 

GORDON,  THE   UNCROW-NED   KING>"    ETC.,   ETC.,   ETC, 


NEW  YORK 


j.  A.  HILL  ,&  COMPANY, 

^  EAST  FQUXTEBNTIT  3*;' 


Copyright, 

A.   HILL  &  COMPANY 
1889. 


V  ? 


PREFACE. 


N  the  preparation  of  a  work  of  the  nature  of  this  one,  now  offered 
to  the  American  public,  it  is  simple  justice  to  the  hundreds,  if  not 
thousands,  of  subjects  missing  from  its  pages  to  say  that  the  aim 
of  the  author  was  to  select  first  the  notable  fortunes  of  the  country, 
and  then  the  leading  types  of  Americans  from  all  branches  of 
industry  and  trade,  and  then  to  take  men  who  in  their  personal 
characters  and  mode  of  life  best  represented  the  leading  national 
traits.  There  are  numbers  of  fortunes  in  this  country  which  are 
many  times  greater  than  some  whose  possessors  have  a  place  in  this  collection, 
and  it  has  been  a  most  difficult  task  to  incorporate  in  the  limits  of  one 
volume  the  best  subjects  for  the  purpose  of  variety  in  the  particulars  mentioned. 
The  work  of  elimination  has  been  more  difficult  than  that  of  compilation,  but  the 
table  of  contents  is  a  remarkable  'one,  both  in  respect  to  numbers,  types,  aggregate 
wealth  and  character.  It  includes  the  leading  millionaires  of  the  country  and  out- 
lines the  history  of  its  wealth.  The  fortunes  are  typical  not  only  as  to  their  creators 
but  of  the  different  sections  of  country.  Here  are  the  poor  New  England  boy,  with 
his  bare  feet  and  honest  heart ;  the  orphan  lad  with  threadbare  clothes  and  empty 
pockets,  whose  life  is  as  barren  of  promise,  to  all  appearances,  as  the  granite  hills 
from  whence  he  midges  to  make  his  way  in  cities.  The  road  for  each  and  all  was 
the  same — through  difficulties  up  to  competence  and  then  to  fortune,  and  the 
lessons  taught  by  such  lives  are  valuable.  True,  they  are  dealt  with  from  the 
material  standpoint,  but  the  finest  characteristics  are  brought  to  light  and  the  best 
deeds  of  every  one  are  recorded.  Americans  honor  material  success,  and  to  men 


(5) 


453452 


6  PREFACE. 

who  succeed  financially  there  is  ample  opportunity  for  political  preferment  or 
philanthropic  distinction.  The  absence  of  misers  among  so  large  a  number 
will  be  remarked,  and  the  universally  generous  bequests  named  in  connection 
with  almost  every  fortune  is  another  laudatory  fact  worthy  of  emphasis.  The 
list  comprises  men  of  all  nationalities,  all  social  grades,  and  all  mental  stand- 
ards. It  includes  the  bonanza  kings,  whose  great  wealth  has  given  the  United 
States  the  fame  of  El  Dorado  to  the  poor  of  other  nations,  and  as  well  the  Eastern 
merchant  with  the  Western  cattle-owner  or  the  Southern  railroad  magnate.  From 
among  so  many  is  obtained  a  fair  average  of  American  character.  Such  names  as 
Peabody,  Peter  Cooper,  Touro  and  Vassar  are  synonyms  of  sweetness  and  good- 
ness; those  of  Stewart,  Vanderbilt  and  Astor  represent  financial  power  the  world 
over ;  while  many  others,  too  numerous  to  individualize,  are  the  best  tributes  to 
American  commercial  rectitude  and  integrity  that  could  be  offered. 

The  story  of  their  combined  lives  is  the  history  of  the  United  States  from  the 
beginning  of  the  century;  and  from  the  days  when  Astor  troubled  himself  over  the 
success  of  his  fur-trading  expeditions  to  the  triumphs  of  Jay  Gould  in  Wall  street 
is  outlined  a  complete  record  of  industry  and  enterprise  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  men  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  this  age. 

The  young  of  the  country,  bent  on  the  carving  out  of  their  own  destinies,  will 
find  ample  encouragement  and  inspiration  from  a  perusal  of  its  pages.  The  old 
will  enjoy  the  reading  of  biographies  so  remarkable  in  many  instances  as  to  appear 
well-nigh  improbable ;  while  people  of  all  ranks  and  degrees  will  be  interested 
in  the  stories  of  how  great  fortunes  have  been  won  and  the  uses  to  which  they  have 
been  applied.  There  are  sketches  of  educators  and  reformers,  iconoclasts  and 
tread-mill  money-getters,  and  valuable  lessons  are  to  be  learned  from  each  and  all 
their  lives. 

The  place  of  honor  in  such  a  book  is  given  by  right  of  justice  as  well  as  of 
courtesy  to  a  woman — the  most  remarkable  millionaire  in  this  country.  Hers  was 
inherited  wealth,  but  she  earned  it  twice  over  in  her  efforts  to  reclaim  it  from  those 
who  withheld  it  from  her,  and  from  whom  she  finally  wrested  it  after  many  years 
of  litigation. 


PREFACE.  7 

The  volume  represents  more  good  deeds,  greater  sums  of  money,  better  men, 
and  finer  representatives  of  manhood,  than  are  to  be  found  in  any  other  work  of  a 
similar  character  before  the  public ;  and  its  chief  recommendation  to  all  readers 
is  its  utter  impartiality  and  fidelity  to  what  is  believed  to  be  the  truth. 

With  such  merits  as  it  possesses,  it  is  sent  on  its  way  to  the  homes  of  the  people 
throughout  the  land  to  do  its  work  of  good  in  showing  the  responsibility  of  those 
who  gather  great  riches  and  distribute  them  again  ;  and  the  way  in  which  famous 
men  have  assumed  the  obligations  of  such  stewardship  and  performed  them.  An 
impartial  study  of  the  subjects  presented  must  result  in  correcting  many  time-worn 
and  narrow  impressions,  and  in  elevating  capitalists  in  the  general  esteem  of  the 
masses. 


PORTRAITS. 


MYRA  CLARK  GAINES, 

GEORGE  PEABODY,             .            .            .            ...  25 

W.  W.  CORCORAN,          .....  38 

W.  B.  ASTOR, .    .                   6. 

JOHN  W.  MACKAY, ;2 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  CHILDS,         ...  gj, 

PETER  COOPER,             Y                       .            .       '     .  .     <                   93 

JUDAH  TOURO,        .            .  ,,2 


HENRY  DISSTON, "  .            ."  iig 

JAMES  C.  FLOOD, %    -'  I24 

GEORGE  M.  PULLMAN, .132 

CYRUS  W.  FIELD,    .            .            .            .           \            .            .'  .     144 

THOMAS  A.  SCOTT,       .            ....  !6D 

A.  J.  DREXEL,           ....  ,8- 

MATTHEW  VASSAR,      ..                                    .                         .  2lS 

WILLIAM  C.  RALSTON,      .  243 

CHARLES  STORRS,       .                                                  .  259 

CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT,           .  2g2 

WILLIAM  H.  VANDERBILT, ^295 

FRANK  LESLIE,       .*         .           .                        .  32I 

EX-GOVERNOR  LELAND  STANFORD,         ....  352 

JOHN  H.  STARIN, 37; 

JAY  COOKE yp 

SILAS  C.  HERRING, 

.    420 

GEORGE  I.  SENEY 433 

SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN .  .     456 

(9) 


10  PORTRAITS. 

MATTHIAS  W.  BALDWIN,       .  ...          469 

ROBERT  BONNER,  .  .484 

PHINEAS  TAYLOR  BARNUM,  .  .  .  .          494 

COLONEL  JAMES  C.  FAIR,  .  .  .  .   '         .     520 

ASA  PACKER, -  537 

AARON  A.  SARGENT ' '  <  .  .  560 

JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  SR.,  ..  ..'  ...  .     5?o 

JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  JR.,        .  .  .  •       '..-.       579 

WILLIAM  S.  O'BRIEN,         .         '  .      • 597 

ALEXANDER  TURNEY  STEWART,   .  .  .  .          607 

CHARLES  F.  CROCKER,     .....  .  .  .     626. 

STEPHEN  GIRARD,        .......  636 

BENJAMIN  BRANDRETH,  '  .  .  :  .  .  .658 

AUGUST  BELMONT,    ........          668 

H.  B.  CLAFLIN,   .  .  .  .          '  .     .       .  .  .          682 

SAMUEL  STOCKTON  WHITE,  D.  D.  S.,  .  .  .  .     693 

HON.  WILLIAM  SHARON,        .  .  .  .  .  .701 

FERNANDO  WOOD,  ,     .       .  .  •  .  .  .713 

JAY  GOULD,          .  .  l    .  •  .  .  .725 

JOHN  W.  GARRETT,       •    .  .  .  .  .  .  .746 

CYRUS  H.  McCORMICK,  ......          764 

DR.  THOMAS  W.  EVANS •  •  •    779 


CONTENTS. 


THE  ASTORS, 
JOHN  W.  MA< 
GEORGE  WILI 
PETER  COOPER 
JUDAH  TOURO, 
HENRY  DISSTON 
JAMES  C.  FLOOD 
ALEXANDER  GR; 
GEORGE  M.  PULI 
CYRUS  W.  FIELI 
THOMAS  A.  SCOT 
AMOS  LAWRENCE, 
A.  J.  DREXEL, 
GEORGE  LAW, 
HORACE  GREI 
MATTHEW  Vi 
WILLIAM  E.  ] 
WILLIAM  C.  1 
DAVID  JAYNE 
JESSE  SELIGMAN, 


PAGE. 

PAGE. 

.  GAINES,    ....      13 

WILLIAM  H.  VANDERBILT,     . 

•    295 

3ODY,             ....        25 

COLONEL  E.  L.  DRAKE,  . 

•    333 

JRAN,             ....        38 

HENRY  VILLARD,  .... 

•    311 

....        46 

CKAY  72 

JOHNS  HOPKINS,     .... 

•     335 

LIAM  CHILDS,     ...      82 

JOSEPH  HARRISON,  JR..  . 

•    346 

EX-GOVERNOR  LELAND  STANFORD, 

•    352 

D  112 

MARSHALL  O.  ROBERTS, 

.     360 

JOHN  F.  SLATER,    .... 

•371 

)OD,     .           .           .           .           .      124 

JOHN  H.  STARIN,   .... 

•    jt  * 
•    377 

GRAHAM  BELL,  .        .        .    129 

JOHN  P.  JONES  

•    383 

'ULLMAN  132 

JAY  COOKE  

•    390 

ELD  '144 

FRANCIS  B.  THURBER,    . 

.    407 

COTT,            .           .           .           .160 

416 

SILAS  C.  HERRING,        .        .        . 

-,           .           .          .           .           .187 

JOHN  BURNSIDE,     .... 

.    426 

191 

JOHN  A.  APPLETON, 

.    429 

ELEY  197 

GEORGE  I.  SENEY  

•    433 

ASSAR,           .           .           .                 2l8 

MARSHALL  JEWELL, 

.     440 

DODGE,      .        .        .        .234 

"  LUCKY  "  BALDWIN,     . 

•     447 

RALSTON,  .        .        .        .243 

456 

PAUL  TULANE,        .... 

AN  254 

MATTHIAS  W.  BALDWIN. 

•     469 

)RRS  259 

NATHANIEL  THAYER,  A.  M.,  . 

•    475 

THERS  271 

SAMUEL  COLT,        .... 

.    481 

ANDERBILT,           .           .           .      282 

ROBERT  BONNER,  .... 

.    484 

12 


CONTENTS. 


NICHOLAS  LONGWORTH, 

PHINEAS  TAYLOR  BARNUM,     . 

D.  O.  MILLS,  .... 

DANIEL  DREW, 

COLONEL  JAMES  C.  FAIR, 

WEBSTER  WAGNER, 

MOSES  TAYLOR,      .        .        . 

ASA  PACKER, 

POTTER  PALMER,    . 

AMASA  STONE, 

AARON  A.  SARGENT, 

DR.  HUGH  GLENN, 

MARK  HOPKINS,     . 

JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  SR., 

JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  JR., 

JAMES  R.  KEENE,   . 

RUSSELL  SAGE, 

WILLIAM  S.  O'BRIEN,     . 

JOHN  ROACH,         ... 

Ex-LiEUT.-Gov.  H.  A.  W.  TABOR, 

ALEXANDER  TURNEY  STEWART, 

GEORGE  W.  RIGGS, 

JOSEPH  EARLE  .SHEFFIELD,     . 

CHARLES  F.  CROCKER,    . 

ELIAS  HOWE, 

THEODORE  A.  HAVEMEYER,   . 

STEPHEN  GIRARD,  . 

PETER  McGEOCH,  . 


PAGE. 
491 

494 
507 
512 
520 
526 
532 
537 
546 
552 
560 
563 
567 
570 
579 
585 
593 
597 
599 
604 
607 
618 
621 
626 
628 
631 
636 
644 


EX-GOVERNOR  JOSEPH  E.  BROWN, 
BENJAMIN  BRANDRETH, 
ROBERT  L.  STUART, 
WILLIAM  CRAMP  &  SONS,  .    . 

AUGUST  BELMONT 

ALVIN  ADAMS,        .... 

HON.  WILLIAM  G.  FARGO,     . 

H.  B.  CLAFLIN,      .        . 

JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER, 

DANIEL  J.  MURPHY, 

SAMUEL  STOCKTON  WHITE,  D.  D.  S. 

JOHN  STEVENS,       .        . 

HON.  WILLIAM  SHARON, 

ADOLPH  SUTRO 

FERNANDO  WOOD,  .... 
ALFRED  S.  BARNES,  .  .  •  . 
THURLOW  WEED,  .... 

JAY  GOULD 

CHARLES  GOODYEAR,     . 

EDWARD  CLARK,    .... 

JOHN  W.  GARRETT, 

BENJAMIN  HOLLADAY,    . 

DAVID  M.  COLTON, 

CYRUS  H.  McCoRMicK,  . 

JOHN  WANAMAKER, 

"  JOHNNY  "  SKAE,  . 

DR.  THOMAS  W.  EVANS, 

JAMES  W.  HALE,  .... 


65S 
66 1 
665 
668 
672 
677 
682 
685 
690 

693 
696 
701 
707 

713 
720 
722 
725 
740 
743 
746 
756 
760 
764 
769 
774 
779 
783 


FAMOUS  AMERICAN  FORTUNES. 

MYRA   CLARK   GAINES. 

OF  all  the  names  which  this  book  contains,  there  is  not  one 
more  deserving  of  honor,  if  energy  and  perseverance  are  qualities 
to  be  admired,  than  that  of  Myra  Gaines.  Nor  is  there  any  man 
among  our  collection  of  millionaires,  who  overcame  more  difficul- 
ties, suffered  more  injustice,  labored  against  and  conquered  more 
prejudices,  toiled  onward  for  so  many  years  with  unbroken  spirit 
and  undying  faith  in  ultimate  success,  than  did  this  vivacious,  un- 
tiring woman.  For  nearly  half  a  century  her  life  has  been  a  bat- 
tle against  those  who  attempted  to  keep  from  her  the  fortune 
legitimately  hers,  and  single-handed,  for  much  of  that  time,  she  de- 
fied the  power  of  interested  officials,  the  technical  snares  of  the 
law,  and  was  practically  vindicated  and  triumphant  in  every 
essential  point  for  which  she  contended. 

Myra  Clark  was  born  in  1805.  Her  father,  Mr.  Daniel  Clark, 
was  a  Southerner  of  wealth  and  great  family  pride,  and  to  the  lat- 
ter trait  Mrs.  Gaines  traces  all  her  losses  and  vexations,  and  the 
necessity  for  an  almost  interminable  litigation ;  he  had  married 
privately  a  beautiful  woman,  who 'had  been  previously  married, 
but  who  comes  into  our  history  only  as  the  mother  of  Myra,  the 
wife  of  Daniel  Clark — Zulina.  Mr.  Clark  was  very  much  at- 
tached to  his  wife ;  but  as  she  did  not  belong  to  the  same  social 
circle  as  that  in  which  he  moved,  he  was  desirous  of  keeping  the 
marriage  secret,  at  least  for  a  while;  and  when  his  daughter  Myra 
was  born,  he  over-persuaded  the  young  mother  to  part  with  hei 
child,  and  allow  her  to  be  brought  up  by  a  friend  of  his  own  ; 

'  (13) 


14  MYRA     CLARK     GAINES. 

though  the  mother  yielded  at  the  time,  regret  came  later,  and  dis- 
satisfaction over  the  loss  of  her  child  finally  led  to  her  separation 
from  Mr.  Clark.  Myra  was  born  on  one  of  Mr.  Clark's  planta- 
tions in  Louisiana,  but  after  the  separation  from  his  wife  he  re- 
turned to  his  former  home  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  large 
shipping  interests.  About  this  time  he  placed  in  the  hands  of 
Myra's  guardian  $700,000  in  trust  for  her. 

The  person  to  whom  the  infant  Myra  Clark  and  this  large  for- 
tune were  both  intrusted  was  Colonel  Samuel  B.  Davis,  of  Dela- 
more  Place,  situated  near  Wilmington,  Delaware ;  this  is  a  beauti- 
ful suburban  residence,  located  on  one  of  the  high  hills  to  the 
west  of  the  city,  surrounded  with  stately  elm  trees,  a  perfect  lawn 
sloping  away  from  the  front  of  the  house,  from  whence  can  be 
seen  the  city  of  Wilmington  and  the  lovely  scenery  of  the  Dela- 
ware river.  The  mansion  is  built  in  the  old  Corinthian  style  of 
architecture,  and  is  now  occupied  as  a  country  residence  by  Sena- 
tor Bayard,  of  Delaware.  Myra  Clark  was  brought  up  by  Colo- 
nel Davis  as  his  own  daughter,  and  always  supposed  him  to  be 
her  father,  until  later  events  accidentally  brought  out  the  truth. 
Fortunately  he  did  not  wholly  neglect  her  education ;  he  was 
wealthy  and  lived  in  magnificent .  style — partly  on  the  use  of 
Myra's  fortune  added  to  his  own.  She  grew  up  a  beautiful, 
graceful  and  accomplished  woman,  never  suspecting  that  she  was 
an  exotic  in  that  family  circle ;  though  Colonel  Davis  never 
encouraged  her  pursuit  of  any  kind  of  learning  which  would  be 
calculated  to  develop  independent  thought.  When  she  was  about 
twenty-four  years  of  age  a  suitor,  favored  by  Colonel  Davis,  was 
urged  upon  her ;  all  others  were  discouraged ;  but  many  were 
solicitous  of  her  favor,  and  one  of  these,  a  young  man  named 
Whitney,  the  son  of  a  wealthy  gentleman  in  Philadelphia,  won  her 
heart  and  the  promise  of  her  hand.  He  was  unobjectionable  in 
every  sense,  of  good  character,  capacity  and  standing  in  society ; 
he  was  a  little  younger  than  Myra,  but  the  difference  did  not 
amount  to  discrepancy;  when,  however,  he  applied  to  Colonel 


MYRA    CLARK    GAINES.  15 

Davis  for  his  sanction  to  the  engagement  with  his  presumed 
daughter,  he  was  harshly,  almost  violently  repulsed ;  but  Myra 
was  resolute,  and  urged  him  to  give  his  consent ;  words  brought 
on  words,  and  the  Colonel,  getting  uncontrollably  angry,  let  the 
secret  slip  which  he  had  kept  locked  within  his  own  bosom  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century;  in  his  excitement  he  exclaimed :j 
"  If  I  was  your  father  I  would  lock  you  up  for  the  rest  of  your 
life  !  "  The  words  were  no  sooner  spoken  than  repented  of,  but 
they  could  not  be  recalled ;  and,  thus  enlightened,  Myra  no  longer 
felt  that  his  consent  was  essential  to  the  marriage,  but  he  finally 
gave  it,  carefully  avoiding,  however,  any  mention  of  the  $700,000 
he  had  received  in  trust  for  her. 

That  Mr.  Whitney  was  a  man  worthy  of  her  esteem  as  well  as 
affection,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  had  no  sooner  settled  with 
his  young  wife  in  their  home  near  New  York,  than  he  began  sys- 
tematically to  supplement  her  deficient  education,  by  assisting  her 
in  a  regular  course  of  study,  which,  with  her  natural  quick  intelli- 
gence, was  a  pleasure  to  him  and  a  benefit  greatly  appreciated  by 
her.  Some  years  of  quiet  happiness  followed,  children  were 
growing  up  about  them,  when  she  first  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  fortune  which  her  father  had  left  her,  and  out  of  which,  up  to 
this  time,  she  had  been  defrauded.  This  fortune,  consisting 
mainly  of  real  estate  in  New  Orleans,  had  now  increased  in  value 
to  millions.  Perhaps  she  would  have  been  happier  if  she  had 
never  heard  of  it.  But  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  young  people 
determined  to  go  to  New  Orleans  and  establish  her  right  in  the 
courts  ? 

It  was  through  a  Southern  gentleman,  who  had  been  a  friend 
of  her  father's  and  knew  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  that  Mrs.  Whit- 
ney first  heard  the  story  of  her  parentage ;  and  also  learned  that 
before  his  death  her  father  had  made  a  second  will,  making  her 
his  sole  heiress.  There  had  been  in  a  previous  will  large  be- 
quests to  charitable  institutions.  Shortly  after  the  last  will  was 
made,  Mr.  Clark  died  suddenly,  not  without  some  suspicion,  which 


I  6  MYRA    CLARK    GAINES. 

however  arose  later,  that  he  had  been  poisoned.  He  had  made 
his  business  partner,  who  was  also  a  confidential  friend,  his  execu- 
tor and  administrator.  Three  days  before  Mr.  Clark  died,  this 
partner  had  deposited  with  the  clerk  of  the  court  Mr.  Clark's  first 
will ;  but  two  days  later,  when  there  appeared  some  prospect  of 
his  recovery,  he  withdrew  it,  but  again  filed  and  recorded  it  the 
day  after  Mr.  Clark's  death.  Fortunately  there  was  one  witness 
who  had  been  watching  this  man.  A  negro,  in  the  employment 
of  Mr.  Clark,  testified  that  he  had  seen  this  partner  open  his  mas- 
ter's desk,  and  take  from  it  a  sealed  document,  which  he  immedi- 
ately burned  on  the  hearth.  In  the  meanwhile  the  executor 
gained  control  of  the  vast  estate  left  by  Mr.  Clark,  portions  of 
which  he  sold  from  time  to  time,  the  greater  part  of  it  to  the  city 
of  New  Orleans.  It  is  probable  that  this  treachery  to  his  friend, 
and  the  robbery  of  his  deceased  friend's  daughter,  was  not  en- 
joyed in  perfect  peace  by  this  false  betrayer  of  a  sacred  trust ; 
for,  being  told  that  Mrs.  Whitney  had  declared  in  open  court  that 
she  expected  to  prove  that  her  father  had  made  a  later  will  than 
that  which  had  been  filed,  but  which  had  been  destroyed  by  an  in- 
terested person,  he  exclaimed:  "Good  God,  did  she  say  that?" 
and  immediately  fell  dead  in  an  apoplectic  fit. 

Having  decided  that  Mrs.  Whitney's  interests  could  be  better 
prosecuted  in  New  Orleans  than  if  residing  at  a  distance,  the  family 
left  their  Northern  home  and  settled  in  the  Crescent  City.  Here 
Myra  found  her  mother,  but  married  again,  and  of  :ourse, 
after  a  separation  of  thirty  years,  they  were  practically  strangers 
to  each  other ;  but  learning  that  her  mother's  marriage  had  been 
doubted  and  her  own  legitimacy  questioned — doubts  probably  set 
afloat  by  those  who  were  profiting  by  their  frauds — Mrs.  Whitney 
determined  that  she  would  spend  her  life  if  need  be  to  establish  her 
mother's  reputation  and  herown  legitimacy.  After  incredible  trouble 
and  a  prolonged  series  of  inquiries  which  denoted  a  very  keen  in- 
telligence, she  succeeded  in  discovering  the  record  of  her  father's 
marriage  to  her  mother,  and  also  other  facts  of  importance  to  her 


MYRA   CLARK    GAINES.  I/ 

suit,  including  the  fact  that  two  wills  had  been  made,  but  while  re- 
joicing over  these  discoveries  a  terrible  affliction  was  in  store  for 
her;  Mr.  Whitney  was  seized  with  yellow  fever,  and  after  an  ill- 
ness of  a  few  days  died.  For  a  while  this  great  calamity  over- 
powered her  so  that  reputation  and  fortune  were  forgotten  in  her 
grief;  but  her  children  remained,  and  rallying  all  her  fortitude  for 
their  sakes,  she  took  up  the  burden  of  her  life  once  more,  and  now, 
smgle  handed,  prepared  to  face  all  the  legal'  obstructions  which 
interested  judicial  skill  could  invent  to  prevent  her  restoration  to 
her  legal  rights.  Having  now  "  only  a  woman  "  to  deal  with,  the 
legal  gentlemen  opposed  to  her  claim  thought  they  would  have 
an  easy  time  in  either  frightening  or  buying  her  off.  Never  were 
people  more  mistaken,  as  they  might  have  admitted  if  their  in- 
tended victim  had  not  outlived  them  all.  The  long  contest  had  ex- 
hausted her  means,  but,  nothing  daunted,  she  borrowed  money  when 
she  could  do  no  better,  but  yielded  her  ground  not  one  iota.  She 
lived  very  economically,  scarcely  .allowing  herself  the  necessa- 
ries of  life.  All  this  time  she  was  subjected  to  the  most  cruel 
calumnies,  and  several  attempts  were  made  to  assassinate  her ; 
but  though  they  could  injure  and  annoy  her,  frighten  herthey  could 
not.  She  was  often  put  to  great  straits.  Once  when  in  Washing- 
ton she  learned  that  her  enemies  were  circulating  a  paper  deny- 
ing that  she  was  the  daughter,  either  legitimate  or  illegitimate,  of 
Daniel  Clark.  She  had  no  money,  but  still  had  some  valuable 
jewels  left;  on  these  she  raised  a  thousand  dollars,  and  having  paid 
some  debts,  she  started  for  New  Orleans,  arriving  there  with  a  very 
small  sum,  on  which  to  continue  her  complicated  litigation.  Still 
more  discouraging,  she  found  that  a  judge  was  to  preside  on  the 
trial  who  was  bitterly  opposed  to  her ;  but  providentially,  as  it 
seemed  to  her,  he  died  before  the  time  set  for  the  case  to  come 
on ;  then  ascertaining  that  a  movement  was  on  foot  to  place 
another  person  equally  objectionable  on  the  bench,  she  determined 
to  defeat  the  plot  if  possible,  though  there  was  but  little  time  in 
which  to  work.  Arising  very  early  in  the  morning,  she  went  to  a 


1 8  MYRA     CLARK     GAINES. 

printing  office  and  had  a  large  number  of  circulars  printed  de- 
scribing the  objectionable  character  of  the  person  whom  it  was  pro- 
posed to  elect  to  the  vacant  judgeship.  She  then  employed  a  man 
to  go  on  horseback  through  the  more  distant  portions  of  the  dis- 
trict, distributing  these  circulars,  while  she  herself  took  hundreds 
•of  them  and  distributed  them  in  the  city,  sometimes  stopping  to 
address  groups  of  workmen,  and  obtaining  their  promise  to  vote  as 
she  desired,  giving  them  good  reasons  for  her  request. 

One  day,  when  she  was  feeling  much  depressed  from  the  fact  of 
her  insufficient  means  to  meet  the  constant  claims  accumulating 
against  her  in  legal  .fees  as  well  as  other  necessary  expenses,  she 
was  informed  .that  a  stranger,  a  gentleman,  wished  to  see  her. 
Fearing  that  this  was  the  prelude  to  some  new  disaster,  she  at  first 
declined  to  see  him,  but,  being  urged  by  her  favorite  attendant,  at 
last  consented  and  went  into  the  parlor,  when  she  saw  a  tall,  fine- 
looking  military  man  who  announced  himself  as  General 
Gaines.  With  the  chivalry  of,  a  mediaeval  knight  he  explained 
to  her  that  he  had  heard  of  her  history,  her  trials,  and  her  unas- 
sisted efforts  to  secure  her  rights  of  inheritance,  and  called 
simply  to  offer  his  assistance  if  he  could  be  of  any  service  to  her. 
Her  surprise  and  gratitude,  were  equal.  It  was  so  long  since  she  had 
struggled  on  alone,  that  the  offer  of  a  helping  hand  was  doubly 
welcome  to  her.  She  accepted  the  proffered  friendship  with  the 
simple  confidence  with  which  it  was  offered.  As  is  known,  this 
disinterested  and  noble  desire  to  assist  a  persecuted  woman  led  to 
their  marriage,  from  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell  which  de- 
rived the  most  satisfaction  and  comfort ;  their  union  seemed  to  be 
without  a  shadow  until  the  end.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  the  observer 
to  see  with  what  care  the  old  soldier  watched  over  the  little,  bright, 
delicate-looking,  dark-haired  woman  lest  she  should  "take  cold" 
or  "  become  fatigued,"  and  she  in  turn  watched  the  dyspeptic  Gen- 
eral lest  he  should  partake  of  anything  which  would  aggravate  his 
complaint. 

General  Gaines  lived  only  eleven  years  after  his  marriage,  but 


MYRA     CLARK     GAINES.  1 9 

in  that  time  he  had  rendered  his  wife  great  assistance,  and  during 
that  period  she  had  at  least  been  sheltered  from  the  calumnious 
attacks  to  which  she  had  been  previously  subjected ;  even  profes- 
sional men,  tnany  of  whom  did  not  hesitate  to  circulate  vile  scan- 
dals about  her  when  she  most  needed  the  courtesy  of  the  bar, 
showed  their  discretion,  if  not  any  more  noble  attribute,  by  care- 
fully avoiding  any  disloyal  utterance  about  the  wife  of  General 
Gaines,  knowing  well  that  they  would  have  had  to  answer  to  him 
had  they  dared  to  do  so.  The  General  also  did  her  the  best  possi- 
ble service  by  encouraging  her  to  plead  her  own  cause  in  the 
courts;  in  fact,  long  before  middle  life  she  had  so  thoroughly 
learned  the  law  points  in  all  relating  to  her  own  suit  that  she  was 
perfectly  competent  to  plead,  and,  as  she  had  a  pleasing  voice,  an 
affluence  of  language,  and  a  really  impressive  eloquence,  she  could 
and  did  in  many  cases  present  her  own  case  as  well  as  any  lawyer 
could  do ;  and  even  where  counsel  was  employed  she  was  always 
present  at  every  trial,  and,  being  more  familiar  with  all  the  details 
of  the  suit  and  preceding  trials,  was  able  to  make  timely  and 
valuable  suggestions  to  the  ablest  lawyers. 

Just  before  the  war  of  Secession  broke  out  Mrs.  Gaines'  suit 
was  in  such  a  shape  that  her  rights  were  acknowledged,  and  it  only 
required  a  few  technical  steps  to  have  put  her  in  possession  of  her 
fortune.  But  the  war  put  a  stop  to  all  suits  in  chancery,  and  a 
long  period  of  weary  waiting  ensued,  at  the  end  of  which  Mrs. 
Gaines  found  that  new  officials  had  come  into  the  courts,  decisions 
had  been  lost  or  destroyed,  and  the  whole  weary  subject  had  to  be 
taken  up  anew.  This  was  the  more  discouraging  because  the 
city  of  New  Orleans  was  now  so  impoverished  that  even  if  she 
re-obtained  favorable  judgments  in  the  courts  she  could  scarcely 
hope  for  any  practical  benefit.  Nevertheless  she  took  up  the 
armor  again  and  re-entered  on  the  battle  for  the  right  with  a 
tenacity  and  spirit  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  litigation  in  this 
country.  It  might  be  thought  that  in  this  long  struggle  she  would 
naturally  have  become  hardened  and  inclined  to  look  only  on  her 


2O  MYRA     CLARK     GAINES. 

own  side  of  the  case,  but  this  was  very  far  from  being  the  case. 
On  one  occasion,  when  her  counsel  had  made  a  very  effective 
argument,  and  the  judge  seemed  evidently  inclined  to  her  side  of 
the  question,  the  opposing  counsel  arose  and  asked  to  have  the 
decision  postponed  till  the  next  day,  as  he  believed  if  he  had 
twenty-four  hours'  time  he  could  produce  some  new  evidence. 
Mrs.  Games'  counsel  strongly  opposed  the  motion,  but  she  inter- 
posed in  behalf  of  her  enemy.  "You  shall  have  three  days,"  she 
said,  "  and  if  you  have  any  evidence  which  will  help  you,  it  is  your 
right  to  have  time  enough  to  bring  it  here."  Turning  to  her 
counsel,  with  an  emphasis  which  he  could  not  misunderstand,  she 
said,  "They  ask  for  one  day — give  them  three."  The  three  days 
were  given,  but  when  the  case  came  on  again  no  new  evidence  of 
any  consequence  was  introduced,  and  Mrs.  Gaines,  obtaining  per- 
mission to  address  the  court,  spoke  with  such  clearness,  force  and 
eloquence  for  three  hours  that  she  gained  every  point  presented. 

From  the  number  of  years  that  Mrs.  Gaines  had  been  before 
the  courts  as  a  litigant,  some  people  have  conceived  the  idea  that 
she  was  an  avaricious  woman,  seeking  to  rake  together  every  scrap 
of  property  to  which  she  could  have  any  possible  claim.  That  she 
had  been  so  long  an  habitue  of  the  courts  of  New  Orleans  was  not 
her  fault,  but  her  misfortune  ;  it  was  not  choice,  but  the  necessity  of 
vindicating  her  birthright,  which  had  been  denied  her  by  the  injus- 
tice of  man.  Her  disposition  was  kindly  in  the  extreme,  as  the 
following  facts  will  show.  There  was  one  particular  suit  which 
related  to  a  section  of  land  on  which  were  residing  four  hundred 
families  inhabiting  the  property  which  they  had  bought  of  the 
city.  They  had  procured  counsel  to  defend  their  homes,  which 
was  quite  natural,  but  some  had  gone  far  beyond  this  and  en- 
deavored to  do  her  bodily  injury;  yet  when  she  had  gained  this 
suit,  and  it  was  within  her  power  to  evict  these  people,  and 
though  she  was  actually  in  great  need  of  money  at  the  time,  what 
did  .she  do?  Turn  them  out,  or  sell  them  out?  No;  this  is  what 
she  did:  when  the  representative  of  a  Baltimore  syndicate  pro- 


MYRA     CLARK     GAINES.  21 

posed  to  her  to  buy  this  property  for  business  purposes,  offering 
for  it  several  hundred  thousand  dollars,  she  first  asked  what  "they 
would  do  with  the  property  if  she  should  sell  it.  "  Take  posses- 
sion of  it,  of  course,"  was  the  answer.  "  In  other  words,  you  would 
deprive  these  people  of  their  homes?"  "We  should  be  com- 
pelled to  do  so,  Madam."  "  Then  I  decline  to  sell  it,  for  I  have 
made  a  vow  to  my  heavenly  Father  that  if  he  would  sustain  me  in 
this  great  battle,  which  has  now  lasted  over  forty-six  years,  I  would 
devote  the  remainder  of  my  life  to  doing  all  the  good  I  could  with 
my  money.  He  has  answered  my  prayers,  for  I  see  complete  vic- 
tory plainly  before  me,  and,  rather  than  violate  my  oath,  I  would  give 
up  everything  and  beg  my  bread  from  door  to  door."  To  other 
would-be  purchasers  for  the  combination  she  said,  "Gentlemen,  this 
is  a  large  sum  to  offer  a  woman  who  is  living  on  what  she  can  borrow 
from  time  to  time  at  an  exorbitant  rate  of  interest.  Let  me  state 
the  facts  in  the  case.  The  people  who  occupy  this  property  bought 
it  in  good  faith  from  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  which  guaranteed 
the  titles  and  promised  to  refund  the  money  with  interest  if  the 
titles  were  found  to  be  defective.  Now  suppose  the  city  should 
say  to  you,  as  it  has  said  to  me,  'We  cannot  come  to  the  relief  of 
these  people,  because  the  treasury  has  been  depleted  by  Northern 
carpet-baggers,'  what  would  be  your  course?"  The  answer  being 
to  the  effect  that  they  would  be  obliged  to  dispossess  them,  her 
ultimatum  was  announced  she  would  not  sell  to  any  parties  who 
would  break  up  these  homes,  yet  at  this  very  time  she  was  depriv- 
ing herself  of  every  little  luxury  suitable  to  her  age,  living  on 
fifteen  cents  a  day — too  poor  to  even  ride  in  the  street-cars.  But 
she  made  no  complaints,  and  never  attempted  to  draw  the  slight- 
est revenue  from  this  valuable  property. 

Shortly  after  her  refusal  to  sell  she  made  a  v^sit  to  New  Orleans, 
and  these  four  hundred  families  appointed  a  deputation  to  wait 
upon  her  and  thank  her  for  her  generosity  and  forbearance,  and 
perhaps,  too,  hoping  to  secure  a  continuance  of  them.  Her  reply 
was  characteristic — she  could  forgive,  but  not  forget,  she  said. 


22  MVKA     CLARK     GAINES. 

"  You  have  persecuted  me  for  more  than  forty  years  as  I  hope  no 
other  human  being  has  ever  been  persecuted,  or  ever  will  be. 
Four  attempts  have  been  made  upon  my  life,  and  I  have  suffered 
greatly  in  mind  and  heart.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  mercy  now 
asserts  itself  in  my  soul,  and  I  say  to  you,  in  this  hour  of  triumph, 
that  I  freely  forgive  you.  Return  to  your  homes,  and  in  due  time 
1  will  bring  an  appeal  to  the  city  of  New  Orleans  to  give  you  a 
full  and  free  claim  to  your  property,  as  they  guaranteed  to  do." 
The  city  has  not  yet  made  these  titles  good,  still  alleging  poverty. 
The  life  and  life-long  litigation  of  Myra  Clark  Gaines  is  one  of 
the  most  curious  in  juridical  annals.  The  bare  facts  read  like  the 
chapter-headings  of  a  sensational  novel  with  a  perfectly  incredible 
plot,  such  as,  a  proud  father  persuades  the  wife,  whom  he  has 
secretly  married,  to  give  up  their  child  to  the  care  of -a  stranger. 
After  having  disowned  his  daughter,  the  father  puts  a  large  for- 
tune in  the  hands  of  his  friend  for  the  benefit  of  this  child,  whom 
he  never  attempts  to  see  ;  this  daughter  grows  up  ignorant  of  her 
parentage,  believes  her  guardian  to  be  her  father,  his  wife  her 
mother,  and  his  children  her  brothers  and  sisters.  The  guardian 
appropriates  her  fortune,  tries  to  fores  her  to  marry  one  of  his 
creatures,  a  man  utterly  distasteful  to  her;  the  young  lady  re- 
serves her  hand  for  a  devoted  lover  and  marries  him.  The  un- 
faithful guardian,  in  a  moment  of  anger,  allows  the  secret  of  her 
alien  birth  to  escape  him.  The  heroine  determines  to  seek  out 
her  long  unknown  mother,  and  unravel  the  mystery  of  her  parent- 
age. She  travels  hundreds  of  miles  to  a  strange  city,  and  by 
marvellous  perseverance  finds  her  mother,  gets  the  true  story  of 
her  father's  marriage,  and  secures  the  official  record  of  it.  In  the 
midst  of  this  first  triumph,  her  devoted  husband  is  stricken  down, 
and  dies  of  yello\^ fever.  For  her  children's  sake  she  still  pur- 
sues the  quest  of  her  father's  will.  She  finds  that  her  father  died 
a  millionaire  and  left  her  his  sole  heiress.  She  learns  from  a 


MYRA    CLARK     GAINER.  23 

faithful  servant  that  there  were  two  wills :  the  one  less  favorable 
to  her  was  filed  in  the  Probate  Court,  and  the  one  making  her  the 
heiress  destroyed  by  the  treacherous  executor.  This  wicked  man 
dies  suddenly,  as  if  stricken  by  the  hand  of  God,  on  hearing  that 
she  has  discovered  his  dishonesty.  Long  years  of  struggle  ensue 
in  the  courts  to  recover  her  inheritance.  A  chivalrous  stranger 
appears  when  she  is  in  extreme  need,  and  proffers'  his  aid  and 
friendship.  This  stranger  proves  to  be  a»  distinguished  General, 
becomes  infatuated  with  her  and  marries  her.  She  studies  the 
laws  of  inheritance,  and  pleads  her  own  cases  in  court ;  success  is 
almost  within  her  reach,  when  the  General  dies.  A  civil  war 
breaks  out,  which  continues  four  years ;  legal  documents  are  lost, 
and  the  whole  litigation  has  to  be  renewed.  Twenty  years  more 
of  struggle  with  the  harpies  of  the  law,  and  the  defrauded  child, 
now  an  aged  woman,  at  last  secures  her  legal  rights,  but  with  a 
generosity  unparalleled,  allows  life-long  opponents  to  retain  a  large 
share  of  her  property,  because  she  will  not  turn  their  families 
houseless  on  the  world.  There  is  a  whole  romance  in  these  few 
lines. 

The  most  singular  fact  of  all  this  romantic  history  is  that  Mrs. 
Gaines  was  able  to  procure  in  the  courts  the  recognition  of  a  will, 
which  not. only  did  not  exist,  but  had  been  destroyed  forty  years 
before !  The  amount  of  labor,  anxiety,  of  travel,  hither  and 
thither,  which  this  lady  went  through  with  during  the  fifty-one 
years  her  pursuit  of  the  truth  continued,  is  simply  inconceivable; 
but  her  spirit  was  not  exhausted ;  she  remained  bright  and  active, 
caring  for  her  six  grandchildren  with  a  cheerful  energy  not  often 
exceeded  fty  one  in  middle  age.  Some  one  once  asked  Mrs. 
Gaines,  "if  she  had  the  support  of  religious  faith  in  her  trials?" 
"  Well,  no,"  she  said,  "  I  do  not  suppose  I  would  be  called  relig- 
ious, but  you  just  ought  to  hear  me  pray  when  I  am  in  a  very 
tight  place!"  Mrs.  Gaines  was  then  seventy-eight  years  old. 
After  the  last  verdict  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  her  favor,  she 
offered  to  compromise  her  claim  against  the  city  for  $1,300,000, 


24  MARIA    CLARK    GAINES. 

which  was  but  a  small  part  ^i  what  was  justly  due  her,  but  the  city 
of  New  Orleans  was  very  tardy  in  making  any  settlement,  and 
before  the  money  was  paid  she  was  dead. 

Of  Mrs.  Games'  five  children  none  were  left  to  share  in  her  sor- 
rows or  her  triumphs ;  two  were  lost  in  early  age  ;  one  daughter 
died  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  unmarried ;  another  daughter  married 
and  died,  leaving  a  young  family ;  her  only  son,  who  arrived  at 
maturity,  was  shot  by  a  brother-in-law,  whether  accidentally  or  not 
is  uncertain.  These  successive  losses  were  severe  trials  to  her, 
particularly  the  tragic  end  of  her  son  ;  but  her  cheerful,  hopeful 
Gallic  blood  enabled  her  to  bear  up  with  unwonted  vigor  under 
these  accumulated  misfortunes. 

Mrs.  Gaines  was  frequently  asked,  what  she  would  do  .with  her 
great  property,  when  it  actually  came  into  her  possession.  Her 
answer  was :  "As  my  noble  husband,  the  General,  used  to  say, 
'  The  path  of  duty  is  ever  the  path  of  honor,  safety  and  glory.' 
When  I  get  possession  of  my  estate,  my  path  will  be.  more  than 
ever  crowded  with  duties,  and  to  the  discharge  of  these,  especially 
my  duty  to  the  poor  people,  who  purchased  my  land  in  good  faith, 
I  will  devote  myself  and  my  means."  Nor  did  any  one  who 
watched  her  course,  or  knew  her  personally,  for  a  moment  doubt 
her  word. 

When  in  some  future  time  the  history  of  Louisiana  is  written, 
and  this  cause  celebre  is  described  by  a  disinterested  person,  both 
writer  and  reader  will  alike  be  astounded  at  the  fact,  that  after  the 
equity  of  a  suit  had  been  repeatedly  decided  in  favor  of  a  plain- 
tiff, and  that  plaintiff  a  woman,  that  a  rich  city,  like  New  Orleans 
was  before  the  war,  should  endeavor  to  evade  paynVnt  of  the 
judgments  obtained  against  it,  and  even  yet,  when  the  original 
judgments  have  been  reaffirmed,  that  they  even  demur  to  accept 
a  liberal  compromise,  and  still  plead  poverty  for  non-payment. 
Mrs.  Gaines  died  in  New  Orleans,  La.,  January  9th,  1885. 


GEORGE   PEABODY. 


GEORGE  PEABODY. 

AMONG  the  merchant  princes  who  have  ennobled  commerce  by 
philanthropy  and  justified  -private  excess  of  wealth  by  a  corre- 
sponding largeness  of  public  spirit  and  unselfish  beneficence,  the 
name  of  George  Peabody,  the  American  banker  of  London,  will 
ever  be  conspicuous.  From  his  cradle  in  Danvers,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  born,  on  the  i8th  of  February,  1795,  and  which 
has  since  been  rechristened  with  his  name,  to  his  grave  in  the  spot 
chosen  by  himself  near  the  scene  of  his  earliest  industry,  in  the 
same  town,  the  busy  interval  of  more  than  threescore  years  and 
ten  was  a  continuous  progress  and  success.  He  died  in  London 
on  the  4th  of  November,  1869. 

Never  had  the  two  great  Anglo-Saxon  nations,  England  and 
America,  so  combined  to  honor  their  illustrious  dead,  as  when  the 
body  of  George  Peabody  was  interred  in  England's  grand  old  Ab- 
bey at  Westminster  until  it  was  carried  across  the  Atlantic  to  his 
native  home,  in  the  finest  vessel  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's  navy. 
"  Monarch  "  was  the  great  ship's  name,  and  monarch  was  he  whose 
honored  remains  were  borne  home  across  the  sea,  for  money  which 
makes  so  many  slaves  had  by  its  consecrated  use  made  him  a  king 
with  an  imperishable  crown.  The  jewels  of  that  crown  cannot  be 
stolen,  for  they  are  set  in  homes  for  the  poor,  schools  for  the  young, 
libraries  for  workingmen  and  other  "  Safe  Deposits  "  more  secure 
than  the  Bank  of  England  and  the  Tower  of  London.  The  gems 
of  knowledge  and  of  hope  that  stud  this  crown  are  shining  brightly 
on  the  brows  of  growing  intelligences,  and  as  the  years  roll  on 
they  shall  diffuse  their  brightness  and  increase  their  multitude 
more  and  more.  It  was  George  Peabody  himself  who  said  of  one 

(25) 


26  GEORGE     PEABODY. 

of  his  great  benefactions  that  in  two  hundred  years  it  would  amoi  *  t 
to  a  sum  sufficient  to  buy  the  City  of  London,  the  wealthiest  and 
largest  metropolis  of  the  world. 

George  Peabody  was  an  Anglo-American  in  every  sense  of  the 
word.  His  ancestors  are  to  be  found  in  the  earliest  archives  of 
English  history.  "  Boadie,"  which  means  "  man,"  was  the  original 
name.  "  Pea,"  which  means  "  mountain, "came  to  be  its  prefix  when 
the  first  "  Boadie,"  a  British  chieftain,  fled  to  the  Welsh  mountains, 
after  fighting  for  Queen  Boadicea  in.  the  last  battle  in  which  she 
lost  her  crown  and  life.  This  was  in  A.  D.  6 1 .  There  was  a  Pea- 
body  among  King  Arthur's  Knights  of  the  Round  Table.  The 
family  are  found  in  Leicestershire  and  subsequently  in  Hertford- 
shire, and  it  was  from  St.  Alban's,  in  the  latter  county,  that 
Francis  Pabody,  as  he  spelt  the  name,  went  in  1635  to  be  one  of  the 
lirst  settlers  in  New  England.  He  made  his  home  at  Topsfield 
in  1667,  and  became  the  first  man  of  the  place.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Reginald  Foster,  who  is  honorably  mentioned  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott  in  "  Marmion  "  and  "The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel." 
Six  sons  and  eight  daughters  were  born  to  him,  and  of  these  sons 
three  settled  in  Bixford  and  two  remained  in  Topsfield.  From 
these  five  patriarchs  came  all  the  Peabodys  of  America.  George 
Peabody  was  the  great-great-great-grandson  of  Francis  Peabody, 
the  first  pilgrim  settler. 

So  much  for  pedigree,  which  is  a  pleasant  heirloom  when  pre- 
served in  virtue.  By  his  own  character  and  life  each  human  being 
stands  or  falls,  and  the  distant  rays  from  high  heroic  forefathers, 
while  they  can  reveal  the  misdeeds  of  their  descendants  in 
strongest  colors  by  comparison,  can  add  nothing  to  the  intrinsic 
qualities  of  individual  life.  Happy,  however,  is  the  man  who  can 
feel  in  looking  back  upon  his  own  career  that  he  has  enhanced  the 
prestige  of  an  honored  name,  and  been  faithful  to  the  sacramental 
bond  of  noble  lineage.  It  is  a  right  and  a  heroic  feeling  which  Lord 
Holland  expressed  upon  his  death-bed  when  he  wrote  with  a  pencil 
the  lines : 


GEORGE     TEABODY.  27 

"  Nephew  of  Fox  and  friend  of  Grey 

Enough  my  meed  of  fame, 
If  those  who  knew  me  best  can  say 
I  tarnished  neither  name." 

Certainly  the  ancestors  of  George  Peabody  had  every  reason  to 
be  proud  of  him  if  they  could  have  been  witnesses  of  his  noble 
life. 

The  district  school  of  his  native  village  of  Danvers  gave  him,  as 
a  child,  the  rudiments  of  education — just  "  the  three  R's,"  probably 
— with  some  information  about  the  Revolution  and  its  heroes. 

At  eleven  years  of  age  he  began  to  earn  his  own  living,  as  a 
grocers  boy,  and  so  continued  for  four  years.  At  sixteen  he  went  to 
Newburyport  as  assistant  to  his  elder  brother,  David  Peabody,  in  a 
dry-goods  store.  "The  first  money,"  it  is  said,  "that  Mr.  Pea- 
body  earned  outside  of  the  small  pittance  he  received  as  clerk,  was 
for  writing  ballots  for  the  Federal  party  in  Newburyport.  This 
was  before  the  day  of  printed  votes.  A  fire  destroyed  the  store, 
and  in  after-life  Mr.  Peabody  used  to  tell  that  he  was  the  first  to 
give  the  alarm,  as  he  was  putting  up  the  shutters  at  the  time  it 
broke  out." 

Forty-six  years  intervened  between  George  Peabody's  leaving 
Newburyport  in  181 1,  and  his  returning  to  it  in  1857,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  an  agricultural  fair.  Most  of  his  early  associates  were  in 
their  graves,  but  he  recognized  three  or  four  now  prominent  busi- 
ness men  who  had  been  his  contemporaries  as  clerks.  Chief  among 
them  was  Prescott  Spaulding,  and  Mr.  Peabody  left  the  Mayor's 
side  in  the  procession  to  shake  his  early  friend  by  the  hand.  Mr. 
Spaulding  was  fourteen  years  his  senior,  and  had  been  the  uncon- 
scious author  of  his  immense  fortune.  It  is  always  interesting  to 
learn  how  great  fortunes  were  made,  and  especially  how  they  be- 
gan. As  John  Jacob  Astor  used  to  say,  "  I  found  great  difficulty  in 
making  the  first  dollar,  but  no  trouble  afterward."  Nothing  is  so 
successful  as  success,  as  the  saying  is,  and  the  momentous  question 
in  regard  to  every  remarkably  successful  man  is,  "How  did  he  be- 
gin ?  What  was  his  starting-point?"  Archimedes,  the  Greek 


28  GEORGE     PEABODY. 

natural  philosopher  and  inventor,  who  anticipated  and  dimly  con- 
ceived many  modern  inventions  in  mechanics,  said,  "  Give  me  only 
a  point  to  stand  on  and  I  will  shake  the  earth."  What  was  George 
Peabody's  standing-point  from  which  he  sent  forth  the  power  that 
attracted  material  wealth  ? 

Mr.  Spaulding  unconsciously  set  the  ball  rolling  which  was  to 
make  the  fields  of  gold  as  it  went  on,  by  giving  young  Peabody, 
when  he  left  Newburyport,  a  youth  of  sixteen,  a  letter  of  credit  to 
Mr.  James  Reed,  of  Boston,  who  was  so  favorably  impressed  by 
his  manners  and  the  character  given  of  him,  that  he  let  him  have 
two  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods,  and  subsequently  gave  him 
credit  for  a  much  larger  amount.  This  was  Archimedes'  "  standing- 
point"  to  George  Peabody,  and  at  a  public  entertainment  in  Bos- 
ton, when  he  had  become  one  of  the  richest  bankers  of  the  world, 
he  laid  his  hand  upon  Mr.  Reed's  shoulder,  and  said,  "  My  friends, 
here  is  my  first  patron ;  here  is  the  man  who  sold  me  my  first  bill 
of  goods."  Newburyport,  therefore,  launched  him  on  the  tide  of 
fortune  when  he  bade  it  farewell,  and  when  he  settled  in  George- 
town, D.  C.,  the  first  consignment  of  goods  made  to  him  was  by 
Francis  Todd,  of  Newburyport.  That  he  never  forgot  these  be- 
ginnings the  Public  Library  of  Newburyport  bears  witness.  Mr. 
Peabody  was  for  two  years  in  business  in  Georgetown,  where  his 
uncle,  John  Peabody,  invited  him  to  join  him  in  the  dry-goods  busi- 
ness. While  there  the  war  of  1812  broke  out,  and  the  British  fleet 
on  the  Potomac  was  threatening  Washington.  He  joined  a  vol- 
unteer company  of  artillery  and  did  duty  at  Fort  Warburton,  which 
commanded  the  river  approach  to  the  capital.  For  this  service  it 
was  stated  in  Appleton  s  Journal  that  Mr.  Peabody  received  one 
of  the  Government  grants  of  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  bestowed 
by  act  of  Congress  on  those  who  had  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 

We  next  find  Mr.  Peabody,  when  only  nineteen,  becoming  a 
partner  with  Mr.  Elisha  Riggs,  of  Georgetown,  who  removed  his 
business  to  Baltimore  in  1815,  and  seven  years  later  opened 
branches  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  In  1830  Mr.  Riggs  re- 


GEORGE    PEABODY.  29 

tired,  and  Mr.  Peabody  became  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of 
Rig-gs  &  Peabody,  now  changed  to  Peabody,  Riggs  &  Co.  The 
"Illustrated  London  News,"  in  a  sketch  appended  to  a  portrait 
of  George  Peabody,  thus  describes  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Peabody's 
connection  with  this  firm :  "  The  short  war  being  over,  his  proved 
skill  and  diligence  in  trade  brought  him  the  offer  of  a  partnership 
in  a  new  concern.  It  was  that  of  Mr.  Elisha  Riggs,  who  was 
about  to  commence  the  sale  of  '  dry  goods  ' — all  sorts  of  clothing 
stuffs  as  distinguished  from  '  groceries ' — throughout  the  Middle 
States  of  the  Union.  Peabody  acted  as  bagman,  and  often  travelled 
alone  on  horseback  through  the  western  wilds  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  or  the  plantations  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  if  not 
farther,  lodging  with  farmers  or  gentlemen  slave-owners,  and  so 
becoming  acquainted  with  every  class  of  people  and  every  way  of 
living." 

In  1837,  during  the  financial  crisis  which  came  upon  every  State 
in  the  Union,  making  bankrupts  of  three-fourths  of  the  first 
American  merchants,  as  well  as  of  those  English  ones  whose  busi- 
ness lay  chiefly  in  American  securities,  Mr.  Peabody  saved  the 
credit  of  the  State  of  Maryland.  Replying  to  Governor  Swann, 
of  that  State,  on  the  ist  of  November,  1866,  when  he  was  publicly 
welcomed  by  the  trustees  of  the  Peabody  Institute,  which  was  en- 
tirely his  creation,  Mr.  Peabody  said:  "It  is  now  upward  of  half  a 
century  since  I  came  from  Georgetown,  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
where  I  had  for  some  time  been  in  business,  to  reside  in  this  city. 
I  was  then  but  twenty  years  of  age,  and  commenced  business  here 
in  company  with  Mr.  Elisha  Riggs,  of  Georgetown,  at  215^ 
Market  street,  then  called  '  Old  Congress  Hall,'  and  there  it  was 
that  I  gained  the  first  five  thousand  dollars  of  the  fortune  with 
which  Providence  has  crowned  my  exertions.  From  that  period, 
for  twenty  years  of  my  life,  though  a  New  England  man,  and 
though  strong  prejudices  existed,  even  at  that  time,  between 
the  Northern  and  the  Southern  States,  I  never  experienced  from 
the  citizens  of  Baltimore  anything  but  kindness,  hospitality  and 


3O  GEORGE     PEABODY.  ' 

confidence.  It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if  I  were  not  deeply  at- 
tached to  Baltimore,  where  I  entered  upon  a  business  career  which 
has  been  so  prosperous.  And  although  I  have  lived  abroad  for 
more  than  thirty  years,  under  the  government  of  a  queen  who  is 
beloved,  not  only  within  her  own  realm,  but  throughout  all  civilized 
countries,  and  who  has  bestowed  upon  me  very  high  honor,  yet  my 
appreciation,  warm  though  it  is,  of  kindness  and  honor  bestowed 
upon  me  in  England  has  never  effaced  the  grateful  remembrance 
and  warm  interest  which  I  must  ever  connect  with  the  home  of  my 
early  business  and  the  scene  of  my  youthful  exertions."  In  those 
thirty  years  he  had  visited  his  native  land  but  once  before.  His 
last  visit  was  in  the  summer  of  1869,  the  year  of  his  death. 

For  twenty  years  Mr.  Peabody  remained  at  Baltimore,  steadily 
building  up  an  enormous  business  as  an  importer  of  manufactured 
goods  from  Europe,  to  which  he  added  a  private  banking  business. 

He  had  frequently  paid  business  visits  to  England,  and  had  be- 
come thoroughly  known  to  the  leading  houses  of  London  as  a  man 
of  inflexible  integrity,  whose  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond,  and 
whose  steady  energy  and  sound  commercial  judgment  insured  suc- 
cess to  his  undertakings.  In  1836  he  resolved  to  extend  his  busi- 
ness by  opening  a  London  house  under  his  own  personal  manage- 
ment. From  February,  1837,  ne  made  London  his  home,  and 
became  so  acclimatized  to  its  atmosphere  and  habits  that,  on  his 
last  visit  to  America  above  referred  to,  when  he  sought  the  White 
Sulphur  Springs  of  Virginia  for  his  health,  he  said  to  those  who 
urged  him  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  America,  "You 
will  think  me  somewhat  of  a  cockney  when  I  say  that  I  believe  in 
London  air  and  London  living.  It  is  my  intention  to  revisit 
America,  but  I  shall  return  to  England." 

He  returned  to  England ;  but  only  after  his  death  (at  his  friend 
Sir  Curtis  Lampson's  house  a  few  months  later)  did  he  revisit 
America,  there  to  rest  forever  in  his  native  soil.  The  large  fortune 
which  Mr.  Peabody  had  already  amassed,  and  the  immense  busi- 
ness he  controlled  at  the  time  he  settled  in  London,  made  his  subse- 


GEORGE     PEABODY.  31 

quent  career  an  easy  one.  The  fame  of  having  saved  the  credit 
of  the  State  of  Maryland  preceded  him,  and  soon  he  became  the 
leading  representative  of  American  capital,  as  well  as  of  American 
commercial  integrity,  in  Great  Britain  and  Europe.  The  signifi- 
cance of  his  great  act  for  Maryland  must  be  estimated  by  the 
financial  crisis  and  panic  of  the  year  1837.  His  friend,  Edward 
Everett,  referred  to  both,  some  years  afterwards,  in  the  following 
terms :  "  That  great  sympathetic  nerve  of  the  commercial  world, 
credit,  as  far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned,  was  for  the  time 
paralyzed.  At  that  moment  Mr.  Peabody  not  only  stood  firm  himself, 
but  was  the  cause  of  firmness  in  others.  There  were  not  at  that 
time,  probably,  half  a  dozen  other  men  in  Europe  who,  upon  the 
subject  of  American  securities,  would  have  been  listened  to  for  a 
moment  in  the  parlor  of  the  Bank  of  England.  But  his  judgment 
commanded  respect ;  his  integrity  won  back  the  reliance  which 
men  had  been  accustomed  to  place  in  American  securities.  The 
reproach  in  which  they  were  all  involved  was  gradually  wiped 
away  from  those  of  a  substantial  character;  and  if,  on  this  solid 
basis  of  unsuspected  good  faith,  he  reared  his  own  prosperity,  let 
it  be  remembered  that  at  the  same  time  he  retrieved  the  credit  of 
the  State  of  Maryland,  of  which  he  was  agent,  performing  the 
miracle  by  which  the  word  of  an  honest  man  turns  paper  into 
gold."  He  continued  to  export  from  England  to  the  United  States 
immense  shipments  of  British  manufactures,  receiving  by  the  same 
vessels  consignments  of  all  kinds  of  American  produce. 

But,  as  we  have  said,  he  had  for  a  long  time  combined  a  private 
banking  business  with  that  of  merchandise.  The  name  he  had  now 
achieved  in  the  commercial  world  attracted  to  his  house  of  busi- 
ness all  the  manufacturers  and  merchants  whose  goods  were  con- 
signed to  or  exported  by  him.  They  were  glad  to  leave  their 
money  in  his  keeping,  and  to  get  advances  from  him  on  their 
freights  when  they  needed  ready  money.  In  this  way,  like  a  stone 
thrown  into  a  pond,  a  widening  circle  of  influence  and  credit  was 
created.  His  business  now  grew  of  itself  by  an  inevitable  pro- 


32  GEORGE     PEABODY. 

cess.  He  became  a  great  banker,  and  latterly  it  is  in  this  capacity 
that  he  was  best  known  to  all  the  merchants'  exchanges  of  the 
world.  The  firm  of  George  Peabody  &  Company  ranked  with 
the  Rothschilds  and  the  Barings.  The  managing  partner  of  the 
latter  house  in  London  was  also  an  American,  Joshua  Bates,  born 
at  Weymouth,  near  Boston.  Mr.  Bates  resembled  Mr.  Peabody 
in  kindly  remembrance  of  his  early  associations.  He  gave  $20,- 
ooo  to  found  the  Free  Library  of  Boston.  It  was  Mr.  Peabody's 
special  pride  to  make  his  establishment  thoroughly  American  in  a 
cosmopolitan  rather  than  a  narrow  and  provincial  sense.  He  said 
himself:  "I  have  endeavored,  in  the  constitution  of  its  members 
and  the  character  of  its  business,  to  make  it  an  American  house 
and  to  give  it  an  American  atmosphere,  to  furnish  it  with  Ameri- 
can journals,  to  make  it  a  centre  of  American  news,  and  an 
agreeable  place  for  my  American  friends  visiting  London."  He 
took  the  principal  part  in  arranging  the  display  of  American 
manufactures  at  the  first  Great  Exhibition  in  Hyde  Park,  London, 
in  1851.  The  banquet  given  by  him  at  the  London  Coffee-House, 
on  the  27th  of  October  in  that  year,  marked  a  new  era  of  inter- 
national confidence  and  good-will,  especially  between  England  and 
America.  In  the  following  year,  1852,  learning  that  his  native 
village  of  Danvers  had  been  greatly  injured  by  fire,  he  helped  to 
rebuild  it,  and,  on  a  public  festival,  a  letter  from  him  was  opened 
containing  ^4,cxx>,  with  the  motto,  for  a  toast,  "  Education,  a  debt 
due  from  the  present  to  future  generations."  The  money  was  for 
"  the  promotion  of  knowledge  and  morality  in  Danvers." 

In  1856  he  revisited  his  birthplace,  and  thus  addressed  his  fel- 
low-townsmen :  "  Though  Providence  has  granted  me  an  unvaried 
and  unusual  success  in  the  pursuit  of  fortune  in  other  lands,  I  am 
still  in  heart  the  humble  boy  who  left  yonder  unpretending  dwell- 
ing. There  is  not  a  youth  within  the  sound  of  my  voice,  whose 
early  opportunities  and  advantages  are  not  very  much  greater 
than  were  my  own,  and  I  have  since  achieved  nothing  that  is  im- 
possible to  the  most  humble  boy  among  you." 


GEORGE     PEABODY.  33 

Others  beside  Mr.  Peabody  have  amassed  colossal  fortunes,  but 
we  can  recall  none  who  can  compare  with  him  in  the  use  he  made 
of  it.  Some  neglect  their  own  kindred,  but  he  who  had  no  wife 
or  child,  provided  munificently  for  all  his  near  kindred.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  list  of  public  benefactions  made  during  his  lifetime: 

To  the  State  of  Maryland  for  negotiating  its  eight  million  loan $      60,000 

To  the  Peabody  Institute,  Baltimore,  including  accrued  interests 1,500,000 

To  the  Southern  Education  Fund 3,000,000 

To  the  Yale  College 150,000 

To  the  Harvard  College 150,000 

To  the  Peabody  Academy,  Massachusetts 140,000 

To  the  Phillips  Academy,  Massachusetts 25,000 

To  the  Peabody  Institute,  etc.,  at  Peabody  (Danvers),  Mass 250,000 

To  the  Kenyon  College,  Ohio , 25,000 

To  the  Memorial  Church  in  Georgetown,  Mass 100,000 

To  the  Home  for  the  Poor  in  London 3,000,000 

To  the  Libraries  in  Georgetown,  Mass.,  and  Thesford,  Vt 10,000 

To  the  Kane's  Arctic  Expedition 10,000 

To  the  Sanitary  Fairs  in  various  places 10,000 

To  unpaid  moneys  advanced  to  uphold  the  credit  of  States 40,000 

Total $8,470,000 

At  Mr.  Peabody's  death  he  was  worth  about  four  millions  of 
dollars,  and  this  amount  he  bequeathed  to  his  brother,  sister, 
nephews  and  nieces,  among  whom,  on  his  last  visit  to  America,  he 
had  already  divided  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

Such,  then,  was  the  great  fortune  of  George  Peabody,  the 
means  by  which  he  made  it>and  the  uses  to  which  he  put  it.  He 
was  a  citizen  of  two  countries,  and  a  benefactor  of  two  hemis- 
pheres. He  had  opportunities  of  making  money,  that  can  rarely 
occur  to  any  man  in  any  age  or  country ;  but  even  these  oppor- 
tunities would  have  been  insufficient,  had  it  not  been  for  those 
qualities  of  mind  and  character  which  enabled  him  to  utilize  them. 
One  error  of  judgment,  one  false  step,  one  defalcation  from  the  in- 
flexible rules  of  high  commercial  honor,  and  George  Peabody 
might  have  been  only  an  ordinary  trader  with  "  ups  and  downs," 
profits  and  losses,  successes  and  failures.  But  his  directness  of 
purpose  and  principle  made  him  master  of  every  financial  situa- 
3 


34  GEORGE     PEABODY. 

tion.  He  controlled  the  doctrine  of  chance  instead  of  being  its 
slave.  If  Martin  Luther  has  been  called  "  the  solitary  monk  that 
shook  the  world,"  George  Peabody  may  be  called  the  solitary 
merchant  who  gave  firmness  to  the  world,  in  the  midst  of  financial 
crises  and  political  revolutions. 

Perhaps  the  hero  who  is  to  benefit  his  fellow-men  on  a  gigantic 
scale,  whether  he  be  philosopher,  poet,  inventor  or  philanthropist, 
must  in  some  degree  stand  alone  in  an  unselfish  solitude.  Great 
planners  and  performers  move  in  an  orbit  of  their  own.  The 
banker,  whose  word  could  guide  the  governors  of  the  Bank  of 
England,  had  himself  to  be  resolute,  prudent,  not  to  be  shaken 
from  a  well-considered  purpose  by  the  fickle  winds  of  rumor  and 
indirection. 

Perhaps  such  men  succeed  better  in  amassing  and  controlling 
money,  when  they  have  neither  wife  nor  child  to  divert  their 
attention  and  engross  their  affections.  Some  of  the  greatest  men 
this  world  has  ever  seen  have  been  wifeless  and  childless.  Still, 
one  can  scarcely  help  a  feeling  of  disappointment  that  no  good 
woman  shared  his  fortunes,  was  the  sympathetic  confidant  of  his 
thoughts,  and  made  a  domestic  hearth  for  him,  where  he  might  of 
evenings  have  shut  out  the  busy  hum  of  the  world's  marketings. 
But  George  Peabody  never  married ;  his  kindly  and  gentle  heart 
knew  perhaps  its  own  bitterness  and  allowed  no  woman  to  inter- 
meddle with  its  joy. 

Yet  there  are  several  stories  of  his  having  loved  and  suffered 
disappointment.  He  who  spoke  so  openly,  and  with  so  much 
candid  gratification,  of  his  business  struggles  and  successes,  his 
parents  and  early  friends,  and  who  built  a  church  in  memory  of 
his  mother,  never  revealed  the  secret  of  a"  love  affair,  if  he  had 
any  to  reveal. 

One  rumor  said  that  he  had  adopted  a  penniless  little  girl,  and 
that,  when  she  was  ripening  into  a  maiden  fair,  pleasant  to  see 
and  to  care  for,  he  offered  her  his  hand  and  heart,  only  to  learn 
that  she  was  already  betrothed  privately  to  one  of  his  clerks.  Of 


GEORGE    PEABODY.  35 

course  the  writers  of  this  story,  as  well  as  poetical  justice,  were 
bound  to  add  that  he  magnanimously  provided  for  both  and  said, 
"  Bless  ye,  my  children."  This  rumor  seems  to  have  had  no 
foundation  but  the  air.  Another  story  runs,  that  he  proposed  and 
was  accepted  for  the  sake  of  his  money  by  a  worldly-minded 
beauty,  who  concealed  a  previous  engagement,  which  when  Mr. 
Peabody  discovered,  he  rebuked  her  insincerity  and  gave  her  up. 
The  third,  and  by  far  the  most  likely  story,  is  the  "  old,  old  story  " 
of  his  loving  one  who  loved  another,  and  who  told  him  so,  and 
that  he  'wrapped  himself  in  his  cloak  of  solitude  and  singleness 
from  that  hour  to  his  death.  The  life  of  a  bachelor  in  London, 
especially  to  men  who  seek  diversion  from  such  a  heartache,  is, 
when  one  gets  used  to  it,  the  pleasantest  in  the  world.  One  need 
not  be  a  cynic  nor  an  old  beau  like  Major  Pendennis  to  enjoy  it. 
Such  bachelors  as  Macaulay,  as  Henry  Crabb  Robinson  are  wel- 
come everywhere,  and  see  and  hear  all  that  is  worthy  of  the 
senses.  The  charms  of  conversation  are  always  open  to  them  in 
wider  and  more  varied  circles  than  those  which  family-men  are 
apt  to  find ;  and  theatres,  concerts,  clubs,  short  tours  with  bache- 
lor companions,  added  to  the  best  treasures  of  literature  and  art, 
make  up  a  mode  and  habit  of  existence  which  seem  enviable  to 
those  who  cannot  attain  to  them.  George  Peabody  would  have 
made  a  noble  husband  and  father,  as  he  was  a  noble  son  and 
brother,  but  he  willed  it  otherwise,  and  lived  alone  contentedly, 
perhaps  remembering  the  truism  of  Pascal — "  Je  mourrai  seul"  I 
shall  die  alone. 

More  remarkable,  however,  than  his  choice  of  a  single  over  a 
married  life,  is  the  almost  Spartan  simplicity  of  his  habits,  con- 
sidering the  vast  means  at  his  command  for  the  gratification  of 
every  taste.  He  gave  banquets  worthy  of  a  king,  and  his  tables 
on  such  occasions  were  laden  with  the  choicest  morceaux  of  all 
lands  in  culinary  art,  but  he  himself  loved  best  his  slice  of  mutton 
and  glass  of  claret ;  cigars,  even  of  the  most  fragrant  and  delicious 
brands,  had  no  attraction  for  him,  which  is  stranger  in  an  Ameri- 


36  GEORGE     PEABODY. 

can  than  it  would  have  seemed  in  an  Englishman.  Smoking  in 
this  country  is  "  the  last  infirmity  of  noble  minds,"  so  general  is 
its  custom ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  George  Peabody  ever 
smoked.  Another  peculiarity  in  which  he  resembled  the  late 
A.  T.  Stewart,  of  New  York,  was  his  aversion  to  personal  orna- 
ments. His  watch  was  never  attached  to  a  gold  chain,  but  to  a 
silk  ribbon.  He  never  wore  any  studs  except  pearl  or  ivory  in 
his  shirt-front  or  cuffs,  and  no  diamond  ever  shed  its  meretricious 
rays  upon  his  bosom ;  he  was  in  food,  and  sleep,  and  dress  always 
the  plain,  simple,  unpretending  gentleman.  It  is  the  Tittlebat 
Titmouses  who  come  into  millions  that  do  not  belong  to  them 
and  which  they  do  not  know  what  to  do  with,  who  corruscate  in 
diamonds  and  command  venal  servility  by  vanity  and  show.  Mr. 
Peabody,  in  contrast  to  so  many  of  these  morceaiix  riches,  would 
not  keep  a  personal  attendant,  or  body  servant,  as  the  term  used 
to  be  in  England,  until  his  health  made  one  absolutely  necessary. 
On  the  same  unostentatious  principle  and  simplicity  of  wants,  he 
would  never  keep  house,  but  was  content  with  apartments  for 
himself.  It  is  said  that  for  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  his  per- 
sonal expenses  did  not  exceed  three  thousand  dollars  a  year.  In 
plain  living  as  in  noble  doing  he  set  an  example  to  all  classes  and 
all  ranks  of  fortune.  In  olden  times  each  city  in  Christendom 
was  believed  to  have  a  patron  saint,  whose  tutelary  or  guardian 
spirit  hovered  over  it  for  its  protection  and  prosperity. 

Apart  from  such  a  poetic  and  pretty  superstition,  we  may  close 
this  sketch  of  George  Peabody,  the  great  American  London 
Banker  and  Philanthropist,  by  reflecting  that  of  many  cities  on 
both  sides  of  the  vast  Atlantic,  he  is  still,  as  it  were,  a  guardian 
angel,  a  tutelary  saint.  At  this  moment,  reader,  in  whatever  city 
thou  art,  the  fact  is  undeniable  that  thou  art  a  debtor  to  the 
memory  of  George  Peabody,  and  that  by  his  life  and  deeds  he 
was  a  benefactor  to  thee  and  all  of  us.  How  many  busy  feet  are 
now  climbing  the  stairs  of  libraries  he  founded ;  how  many  busy 
hands  are  now  holding  the  books  and  instruments  he  gave  to 


GEORGE     PEABODY.  37 

museums,  libraries  and  colleges;  how  many  eager  hearts,  just 
entering  upon  business  life,  is  his  examplar  spirit  pointing  to  the 
right  way.  When  the  evening  star  looks  down  on  his  native  vil- 
lage, now  the  town  that  bears  his  name ;  or  in  Georgetown, 
Massachusetts,  where  the  church,  in  memory  of  his  mother,  points 
to  high  and  heavenly  things ;  or  in  Baltimore,  where  his  wealth 
began ;  or  the  great  world  of  London,  where  winds  the  silver 
Thames  amid  the  commerce  of  the  globe,  and  where  his  thousands 
turned  to  millions,  it  sees  innumerable  human  beings,  men,  women 
and  children,  who  rise  up  to  toil  and  lie  down  to  rest  under  the 
shelter  of  George  Peabody,  and  with  the  light  of  his  beneficence 
about  their  way. 


453452 


W.   W.    CORCORAN. 

MR.  CORCORAN,  the  aged  banker  of  Washington,  had  a  national 
reputation  in  two  respects :  one  for  his  great  wealth,  and  again 
for  the  wise,  elevating  and  benevolent  use  which  he  made 
of  it.  There  was  no  permanent  resident  of  the  capital  who 
did  more  for  its  intellectual  interests  than  he;  or  as  much  to 
develop  a  taste  for  historical  research  and  for  the  fine  arts.  The 
father  of  William  \Vilson  Corcoran,  whose  name  was  Thomas, 
came  to  this  country  in  1 783,  settling  at  first  in  Baltimore,  after- 
wards removing  to  Georgetown,  preferring  this  place  for  what 
would  appear  now  to  be  a  curious  reason,  "because  there  was 
such  a  large  quantity  of  shipping  there ; "  this,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, was  in  1787,  two  years  before  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  and  at  that  time  there  was  no  idea  of  locating  the  capital  of 
the  nation  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  Thomas  Corcoran  was 
only  twenty-three  years  of  age  at  this  time,  but  was  already  a 
widower ;  he  opened  a  store  and  soon  won  the  confidence  of  the 
people  of  Georgetown,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  married  a 
lady  of  that  city.  He  rose  rapidly  in  public  esteem,  and  prospered 
greatly  in  his  business,  became  a  Director  of  the  Bank  of  Colum- 
bia, and  was  elected  a  mayor  of  the  city ;  and  was  also  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Columbia  College. 

Thomas  Corcoran's  son,  William  Wilson,  was  born  on  the  27th 
of  December,  1798.  He  received  a  good  education,  and  then,  at 
the  age  of  nineteen,  went  into  the  dry-goods  business,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  First  and  High  streets.  In  a  few  years  his  business  so  ex- 
panded that  he  built  a  large  warehouse  on  the  corner  of  Congress 
and  Bridge  streets,  taking  into  partnership  his  younger  brother, 
Thomas ;  the  firm  commencing  as  auction  and  commission  mer- 
(38) 


W.  W    CORCORAN. 


VV.    W.    CORCORAN.  39 

chants,  which  they  continued  until  1823;  at  this  time  trade  was 
very  much  depressed,  and,  in  company  with  a  great  many  others, 
the  young  partners  failed ;  they  were  able  to  make  very  favorable 
terms  with  their  creditors,  who  appreciated  the  uprightness  of 
their  course,  and  knew  that  it  was  through  no  fault  of  theirs  that 
they  had  been  compelled  to  suspend ;  and  we  may  as  well  mention 
here  the  fact  that  after  Mr.  W.  W.  Corcoran  had  amassed  wealth, 
as  he  had  so  long  ago  as  1843,  tnat  ne  looked  up  all  his  George- 
town creditors  and  paid  those  old  debts  to  the  uttermost  farthing, 
not  only  the  principal  but  the  accumulated  interest  which  had  been 
running  on  for  twenty  years,  and  which  far  exceeded  in  amount 
the  original  'indebtedness,  a  rare  instance,  indeed,  of  conscientious 
honesty,  long  after  all  legal  claims  had  ceased. 

For  eight  years,  between  1828  to  1836,  Mr.  Corcoran  had 
charge  of  the  real  estate  of  the  Bank  of  Columbia,  which,  of  course, 
was  a  source  of  great  profit.  Being  now  in  a  very  prosperous 
way  he,  in  1835,  married  Miss  Louisa  Morris,  daughter  of  Com- 
modore Morris,  of  the  United  States  navy.  Mrs.  Corcoran  was  a 
lady  of  exceptional  beauty,  culture  and  refinement,  and  it  is  said 
that  at  first  the  aristocratic  old  commodore  was  decidedly  opposed 
to  the  match,  little  anticipating  the  extraordinary  financial  and 
social  eminence  which  his  son-in-law  was  destined  to  reach.  Soon 
after  his  marriage  Mr.  Corcoran  left  Georgetown  and  settled  in 
Washington;  and  in  1841  he  became  the  financial  agent  of  the 
State  Department  in  its  foreign  transactions.  About  this  time  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  great  New  England  statesman,  Dan- 
iel Webster,  and  this  friendship  continued  unbroken  and  unclouded 
until  the  death  of  the  latter.  In  1842  Mr.  Corcoran  formed  a  part- 
nership with  the  successful  banker,  Mr.  Riggs.  At  this  period  the 
credit  of  the  United  States  had  been  much  injured  abroad  by  the 
repudiation  of  Mississippi  and  some  other  States ;  many  European 
financiers  apparently  not  being  able  to  distinguish  between  a  State 
and  a  national  debt,  were  unwilling  to  accept  United  States  gov- 
ernment bonds.  In  this  emergency  Corcoran  and  Riggs  came  to 


4O  W,    W.    CORCORAN. 

the  rescue,  and  took  up  the  proffered  loan ;  which  action  at  once 
established  the  reputation  of  the  firm,  as  well  as  proving  a  very- 
profitable  transaction  for  themselves.  Another  loan  of  the  gov- 
ernment, which  was  issued  to  raise  money  for  the  conduct  of  the 
war  in  Mexico,  was  taken  by  this  firm.  In  1848  Mr.  Corcoran 
went  to  London,  hoping  to  place  a  large  amount  of  government 
securities;  and  there  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  his  old  friend, 
George  Peabody ;  these  had  been  boys  together  in  Georgetown, 
but  it  was  many  years  since  they  had  met,  and  this  interview  in 
another  hemisphere  was  doubly  interesting;  here,  too,  he  renewed 
his  acquaintance  with  the  Barings,  and  these  friends  combined  to 
make  his  expedition  a  success.  On  returning  to  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Corcoran  landed  at  New  York,  and  here  he  was  welcomed 
with  an  enthusiastic  ovation  by  the  bankers  and  capitalists  of  the 
metropolis,  who,  at  a  banquet  given  in  his  honor,  hailed  him  as 
"the  fortress  of  American  credit  in  Europe." 

Mr.  Corcoran's  wealth  was  now  largely  increasing,  and  he 
began  to  look  about  for  suitable  investments ;  and  large  purchases 
were  made  by  him  of  real  estate,  both  in  Washington  and  New 
York.  He  also  sought  for  worthy  charities  to  which  a  portion  of 
his  wealth  might  be  freely  devoted.  One  of  the  first  objects  of  his 
generous  thoughts  was  the  proper  care  of  the  last  resting-place 
of  the  dead ;  and  Oak  Hill  Cemetery,  on  the  heights  at  George- 
town, with  its  beautiful  arrangements  and  decorations  attest 
to  his  taste,  as  well  as  his  munificence;  these  grounds  being 
laid  out  irrespective  of  expense  in  the  most  picturesque  and  at- 
tractive style  suitable  to  such  a  place.  To  the  Washington 
Orphan  Asylum  he  presented  the  valuable  lots  on  which  that 
building  is  erected,  and  the  grounds  which  surround  it.  Mr.  Cor- 
coran also  endowed  Columbia  College,  at  Georgetown,  with  a 
large  estate ;  and  has  also  made  liberal  donations  to  William  and 
Mary  College ;  to  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  and  to  the  Uni- 
versities of  Washington  and  Lee. 

In  addition  to  all  the  above-named  gifts  and  an  unending  series 


W.    W.    CORCORAN.   •  41 

of  private  chanties,  his  greatest  gift  of  all  to  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington— we  might  truly  say  to  the  nation — is  the  magnificent  Art 
Gallery  which  stands  on  the  corner  of  Pennsylvania  avenue  and 
Seventeenth  street.  This  splendid  building  is  in  the  renaissance 
style,  of  brick  and  New  Jersey  sandstone ;  it  is  one  hundred  feet 
front  on  the  avenue  by  one  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  on  Seven- 
teenth street.  The  facade  is  rich  in  ornamentation,  with  niches  for 
portrait  statues  of  renowned  artists ;  it  is  two  stories  high  above 
the  basement,  with  a  lofty  mansard  roof,  in  which  is  set  the  sky- 
light through  which  the  gallery  is  lighted.  This  gallery  is  thirty- 
five  feet  high  from  floor  to  skylight ;  the  main  room  being  ninety- 
five  feet  in  length  by  forty-five  in  width,  with  two  lesser  rooms, 
forty-five  by  nineteen  feet ;  and  in  an  octagon-shaped  room,  built 
specially  for  it,  over  the  main  entrance,  stands  the  beautiful  marble 
statue  of  Power's  Greek  slave.  To  the  left  of  the  trustees'  room 
is  the  library,  chiefly  devoted  to  works  on  art  and  collateral  sub- 
jects ;  it  has  a  shelving  capacity  of  thirty-five  thousand  volumes ; 
beyond  this  is  the  hall  of  sculptures. 

Ground  was  broken  for  this  building  in  1857.  When  it  was 
completed  and  a  number  of  works  of  art,  transferred  from  Mr. 
Corcoran's  own  private  gallery  and  from  other  sources,  placed  on 
the  walls,  this  noble  donor  added  an  endowment  fund  of  $50,000. 
It  is  as  well  to  note  here  that  it  is  the  public,  and  not  the  giver, 
which  has  attached  the  name  "  Corcoran  Gallery "  to  this  build- 
ing ;  he  had  the  fa$ade  inscribed  with  these  words  only,  "  Devoted 
to  Art." 

But  none  of  the  objects  we  have  enumerated  were  so  dear  to  the 
heart  of  Mr.  Corcoran  as  the  "Louisa  Home,"  dedicated  to  the 
memory  of  his  deceased  daughter.  Mr.  Corcoran's  wife,  Louisa 
Morris,  died  in  1840,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one,  a  few  years 
after  her  marriage;  she  left  a  son  and  daughter;  the  boy  died 
young,  but  the  daughter,  Louisa,  who  greatly  resembled  her  mother, 
lived  to  mature  age ;  she  married  the  Hon.  George  Eustis,  at  one 
time  member  of  Congress  from  Louisiana.  She  died  at  about  the 


42  W.    \V.    CORCORAN. 

age  of  thirty,  leaving  three  children,  who  were  brought  up  by 
their  grandfather.  Miss  Louisa  Corcoran,  or  Mrs.  Eustis,  was 
a  beautiful  and  accomplished  woman,  and  well  known  in  Washing- 
ton as  a  graceful  and  fearless  rider ;  on  her  Mr.  Corcoran  seemed 
to  have  centred  all  the  strongest  affections  of  his  nature,  and  to  her 
this  "  Louisa  Home "  is  dedicated.  This  is  a  stately  structure, 
standing  on  Massachusetts  avenue  near  Fifteenth  street,  and  was 
built  in  1870;  it  is  an  asylum  for  ladies  who  have  been  reduced 
from  affluence  to  poverty,  through  misfortune  or  the  loss  of  their 
natural  protectors:  the  widows  of  naval  or  military  officers,  or  aged 
persons  belonging  to  families  in  private  life  no  longer  able  to  sup- 
port them.  Here  every  provision  is  made  for  the  comfort  of  the 
inmates,  Mr.  Corcoran's  forethought  having  even  provided  a 
covered  promenade,  where  exercise  may  be  taken  in  inclement 
weather.  Near  the  principal  entrance  there  are  finely  executed 
portraits  of  the  two  Louisas,  Mr.  Corcoran's  lost  wife  and  daughter. 
On  New  Year's  day,  when  Mr.  Corcoran  started  out  to  make  his 
round  of  calls,  his  first  visit  was  always  made  to  the  ladies  at  the 
"Louisa  Home."  In  1849  Mr.  Corcoran  erected  a  large,  substan- 
tial edifice  for  the  then  newly  organized  Department  of  the  In- 
terior ;  this  building  is  now  occupied  by  the  paymaster-general  of 
the  army.  In  1870  he  built  the  Washington  Hotel  on  Vermont 
avenue,  which  almost  directly  took  its  place  as  the  most  fashion- 
able in  the  city.  In  fact,  it  is  difficult  to  walk  through  the  streets 
of  Washington  in  any  direction  without  coming  in  contact  with 
some  piece  of  property  or  some  building  either  owned  or  having 
been  given  away  by  W.  W.  Corcoran. 

To  the  historical  student  the  name  of  the  Washington  banker 
has  become  a  household  word.  Not  only  did  Mr.  Corcoran  give 
the  money  to  establish  the  Historical  Society  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  but  he  has  presented  to  the  Virginia  Historical  Society 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  valuable  gifts,  known  to  students 
as  the  "  Dinwiddie  Papers,"  which  have  been  lying  perdu  in  Lon- 
don for  a  hundred  and  thirty  years.  These  papers  had  long  been 


W.    W.    CORCORAN.  43 

in  the  possession  of  the  well-known  bibliopole,  Henry  Stevens, 
and  consist  of  the  original  manuscript  records  of  the  Colony  of 
Virginia  during  the  administration  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Robert 
Dinwiddie — that  is,  from  1752  to  1757.  The  importance  of  these 
papers  may  be  estimated  partially  when  we  state  that  they  con- 
sist of  nine  hundred  and  fifty  documents  and  letters,  on  six  hun- 
dred and  thirty  closely  written  folio  pages,  and  will  fill  when  printed 
three  large  octavo  volumes.  Among  the  interesting  contents  are 
over  sixty  letters  from  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  George  Washing- 
ton, then  a  young  man  of  twenty-three,  and  eighteen  letters  of 
the  youthful  Washington  to  Dinwiddie;  these  are  among  the  earliest 
authentic  letters  known  to  be  extant  of  George  Washington's — 
these  being  written  between  March,  1754,  and  May,  1756.  Then 
there  are  official  addresses,  messages,  speeches,  charges  to  the 
House  of  Burgesses  and  to  the  grand  jury ;  letters  to  officers  in 
the  civil  and  military  service ;  letters  to  governors  of  other  Col- 
onies and  to  various  other  persons  in  different  classes  of  life  both 
in  America  and  England,  all  illustrative  of  the  condition  of  Vir- 
ginia at  that  time,  throwing  light  upon  persons  and  events  of 
singular  interest  to  the  student  of  colonial  times  in  Virginia. 
As  Washington's  private  papers  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French 
at  the  time  of  Braddock's  defeat,  these  "  Dinwiddie  Papers " 
are  the  only  documents  that  can  fill  the  hiatus  caused  by  their 
loss.  For  these  papers  Mr.  Corcoran  paid  several  thousand 
dollars. 

When  Kossuth  was  in  this  country  Mr.  Corcoran  became  very 
much  interested  in  Hungary  and  the  Hungarians,  and  gave  the 
necessary  funds  to  transfer  one  hundred  of  Kossuth's  compatriots 
from  New  York  city  to  homes  in  the  far  West.  In  religious  faith 
Mr.  Corcoran  was  an  Episcopalian,  and  was  for  years  a  liberal 
donor  to  the  Church  of  the  Ascension  in  Washington.  He  was 
for  many  years  recognized  as  the  most  magnificent  entertainer  in 
Washington;  his  dinners  were  the  most  brilliant  of  the  many 
splendid  entertainments  which  each  season  witnesses  in  the  capital, 


44  W.    W.    CORCORAN. 

and  "the  long  file  of  stately  senators"  leading  to  the  table  the 
creme  de  la  creme  of  Washington  beauty  was  a  sight  long  to  be 
remembered  even  in  that  city  of  fashion  and  social  display. 

One  of  the  latest  exhibitions  of  Mr.  Corcoran's  poetic  senti- 
ment, which  eighty-five  years  had  not  been  able  to  extinguish  or 
to  enfeeble,  was  his  sending  out  an  expedition  to  Algiers  for  the 
remains  of  John  Howard  Payne,  the  author  of  "Home,  Sweet 
Home."  To  this  venerable  patriarch  it  appeared  unseemly  for 
the  bones  of  this  -man  whose  simple  poem  had  stirred  with  home- 
sick longing  the  hearts  of  thousands  in  foreign  lands — words  which 
had  been  composed  when  an  exile  from  home,  and  which  are 
known  and  sung  wherever  the  English  tongue  is  spoken — that  he 
of  all  men  should  be  denied  a  final  resting-place  in  the  land  of  his 
birth ;  and  acting  on  this  generous  thought,  which  shows  at  least 
that  his  heart  has  not  grown  old,  he  caused  them  to  be  restored 
to  their  native  soil. 

Mr.  Corcoran  suffered,  as  do  all  the  wealthy  free-givers,  from 
the  number  and  persistency  of  beggars  of  all  descriptions  and  of 
every  class ;  from  those  who  hold  out  their  hats  for  a  dime  to  the 
impecunious  men  and  women  whose  thriftless  habits  have  left  them 
stranded  on  the  shores  of  indigence  in  middle  life.  To  the  impor- 
tunities of  this  miscellaneous  multitude  no  man's  fortune  is  equal, 
and  even  Mr.  Corcoran  had  to  keep  a  sort  of  body-guard  to  pro- 
tect him  in  his  home  and  during  his  walks  from  their  fluent  verbal 
assaults.  The  retired  banker  spent  his  days  of  repose  from 
business  in  a  magnificent  house  just  across  the  Park  near  the 
White  House ;  fortunately,  though  childless,  his  home  was  cheered 
and  enlivened  by  the  presence  of  his  three  grandchildren,  and 
these  were  often  seen  on  the  avenues  of  the  city  taking  eques- 
trian exercise,  of  which  Mr.  Corcoran  highly  approved  and  en- 
couraged in  his  own  daughter.  Mr.  Corcoran's  one  long  holiday 
occurred  in  1863-64,  when  he  and  George  Peabody  went  to  Italy 
together ;  being  both  lovers  of  art,  they  spent  much  time  in  Rome 
and  Florence — wintering  in  Naples ;  these  friends  were  very  much 


W.    W.    CORCORAN,  45 

attached  to  each  other,  and  had  many  points  in  common,  especially 
f  in  their  liberality,  for  which  they  will  long  be  remembered  by  those 
who  knew  them  both  as  two  earnest,  enterprising  youths  in 
Georgetown.  In  later  years  Mr.  Peabody  once  remarked,  after 
hearing  of  some  large  gift  of  Mr.  Corcoran's,  "Ah!  I  can't  keep 
up  with  him."  The  youngest  son  of  Mrs.  Eustis  was  named  for 
her  father's  old  friend,  "  George  Peabody." 

Mr.  Corcoran  remained  a  widower.  He  is  described  as  being, 
in  later  years,  slightly  above  the  average  height,  of  regular  feat- 
ures ;  his  ample  gray  hair  and  moustache  cut  and  trimmed  with 
care,  but  suitable  to  his  age.  He  gave  away  between  three  and 
four  millions  of  dollars,  and  had  many  more  millions  left.  He 
died  in  Washington,  February  24,  1888. 


JOHN  JACOB   ASTOR. 

HANS  JAKOB  or  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR  was  born  in  the  obscure  ham- 
iet  of  Waldorf,  Germany,  in  1763.  In  the  various  sketches  of  his 
life  which  have  been  published  nearly  every  writer  gives  a  differ- 
ent account  of  the  occupation  of  his  father  and  the  status  of  the 
family;  some  even  speaking  of  him  as  a  "justice,"  when  it  is 
quite  certain  that  there  was  no  such  official  in  the  place.  He  was 
according  to  these  biographers  a  "farmer,"  a  "baker,"  a  "butcher," 
"  rustic,"  etc.,  etc.  From  the  most  authentic  evidence  extant  there 
remains  no  doubt  that  the  father  of  John  Jacob  Astor  pursued  the 
very  useful  occupation  of  a  butcher,  which  one  of.his  sons,  Henry, 
also  followed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  leasing  a  stall  in  the  old 
hay  market ;  the  eldest  son  of  the  family  early  settled  in  London, 
as  a  manufacturer  of  musical  instruments,  and  was  at  one  time  in 
partnership  with  Broadwood,  a  name  inseparably  connected  with 
the  piano-fortes  of  a  century  ago.  Perhaps  to  escape  military 
service,  to  which  was  added  a  dislike  to  his  father's  business,  and 
quite  certainly  with  the  hope  and  expectation  of  rising  in  the 
world  as  he  could  never  do  in  Waldorf,  the  fourth  and  youngest 
son  of  the  family  determined  to  follow  the  example  of  his  elder 
brothers,  and  seek  his  fortune  abroad.  But  how  should  he  pro- 
cure the  money  for  the  journey  ?  The  idea  of  paying  for  carriage 
conveyance  could  never  have  entered  his  mind ;  the  "  post- 
kutsche "  did  not  pass  through  Waldorf,  and  to  reach  that  he 
must  first  get  to  Manheim,  a  city  at  the  confluence  of  the  Rhine 
and  Neckar;  but  even  the  charges  for  the  post-coach  were  too 
much  for  his  slender  savings.  His  parents  desired  to  keep  their 
youngest  son  at  home,  but  by  doing  odd  jobs  and  by  the  friendly 
gifts  of  some  of  his  relations  he  had  acquired  a  small  sum ;  little 
(46) 


JOHN    JACOB    ASTOR.  47 

more  than  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  sea-voyage  which  he  must 
make  to  reach  London,  whither  he  had  determined  to  go  in  the 
first  instance,  though  his  ultimate  destination  was  to  reach  America. 
Hans  Jakob  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he  finally  determined 
to  bid  farewell  to  his  native  village  and  carve  out  his  own  fortune 
in  the  new  world.  As  he  had  not  money  to  ride,  he  simplified  mat- 
ters, and  determined  to  walk  the  entire  distance  to  the  seashore. 
From  his  home  to  the  coast  of  Holland,  in  a  straight  line,  the  dis- 
tance is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles ;  it  was  probably  over 
three  hundred  by  the  curving  roads  over  hill  and  valley  which,  as 
a  pedestrian,  he  had  to  take.  Setting  out  with  a  limited  but  com- 
fortable change  of  clothing,  and  his  little  hoard  of  money,  he 
courageously  took  up  the  path  to  the  seashore,  and  after  some 
weeks  of  travel,  which  cost  but  little  for  the  homely  fare  and 
lodging  he  required,  he  reached  the  coast  of  Holland,  and  engaged 
passage  in  a  Dutch  smack  bound  direct  for  London. 

The  lad  had  two  objects  in  going  to  England:  one  was,  under  the 
friendly  protection  of  his  brother,  to  gain  some  knowledge  of  the 
English  language,  and  the  other  was  to  earn  a  sufficient  sum  to 
pay  for  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic.  He  remained  with  his 
brother  in  London  four  years,  diligently  assisting  him  in  his  busi- 
ness, acquiring  not  only  the  language,  but  information  about  the 
United  States,  and  generally  learning  all  he  could  in  any  way 
related  to  trade  and  commerce. 

In  1783  the  treaty  of  Versailles  was  announced,  securing  peace 
between  the  late  colonies  in  America  and  the  British  government. 
This  was  a  favorable  time  for  young  Astor  to  make  his  long  in- 
tended voyage.  In  November  of  that  year  he  engaged  passage 
on  board  of  a  vessel  bound  for  Baltimore,  taking  with  him  a  small 
sum  of  money,  and  six  or  seven  flutes  valued  at  $75  each,  which 
he  was  to  sell  on  his  brother's  account.  The  voyage  was  long 
and  stormy,  and  the  ship  did  not  arrive  at  Hampton  Roads  until 
January  of  1784,  and  then  unfortunately  was  detained  by  the  ice 
accumulated  in  Chesapeake  Bay  for  some  three  months !  Other 


48  JOHN    JACOB     ASTOR. 

ships  were  likewise  frozen  in,  and  the  passengers  on  the  ice-bound 
fleet,  to  break  the  monotony  of  their  forced  idleness,  used  to  pass 
from  one  vessel  to  another  making  visits  and  forming  new  ac- 
quaintances. Among  the  passengers  on  one  of  the  vessels  was  a 
German  who  had  previously  been  in  America  and  engaged  in  the 
fur  trade.  Young  Astor  was  deeply  interested  in  his  accounts  of 
his  journeys  through  the  primeval  forest,  the  hunting  of  the  beaver, 
and  the  pursuits  of  other  animals,  the  trade  with  the  red  men,  the 
coursing  of  rivers  in  birch  canoes,  and  all  the  picturesque  incidents 
attending  the  pursuit  of  trade  among  a  savage  people,  and  in 
regions  beyond  the  settlements  of  civilization.  But  more  en- 
trancing than  all  these  narratives  was  the  story  which  the  stranger 
told  of  the  immense  profits  to  be  derived  from  this  sort  of  com- 
merce. Astor  had  an  exceedingly  retentive  memory ;  he  ques- 
tioned his  newly  found  friend  not  only  about  the  regions  to  be 
traversed,  the  nature  of  the  people  he  had  to  deal  with,  but  also 
about  the  habits  .of  the  various  animals  whose  skins  were  market- 
able ;  also  of  the  proper  season  of  the  year  in  which  to  visit  the 
trading-posts ;  indeed  upon  every  practical  point  relating  to  the 
business.  Not  a  fact  or  a  suggestion  was  lost  upon  him.  He 
made  up  his  mind  then  and  there  that  ultimately  he  should  engage 
in  the  fur  trade  ;  but  at  present  he  had  no  capital,  and  he  must  first 
find  some  employment  by  which  he  could  earn  a  support  and  save 
something  for  the  future  with  which  he  could  trade  and  increase 
his  capital.  How  long  he  remained  in  Baltimore  is  uncertain — 
probably  but  a  very  short  time  ;  for  we  soon  find  him  in  New  York, 
not,  as  his  eloquent  biographer,  Washington  Irving,  represents, 
launching  at  once  into  the  fur  trade,  but  in  a  far  humbler  capacity. 
He  did  not  at  once  find  his  brother.  In  the  summer  of  1 784  he 
was  at  the  house  of  a  German  named  George  Dietrich,  an  old 
acquaintance,  with  whom  he  first  put  up  on  arriving  in  the  city. 
Dieterich  was  a  baker ;  his  house  and  shop  was  on  a  corner  of 
Pearl  and  Frankfort  streets  (Pearl  was  then  called  Queen  street). 
Young  Astor  agreed  to  assist  him  in  his  business,  and  at  once 


JOHN    JACOB     ASTOR.  49 

entered  upon  his  duties.  The  manners  of  those  primitive  times 
differed  considerably  from  the  present.  The  city  was  so  small, 
extending  but  little  above  the  present  site  of  the  City  Hall,  that 
a  smart  young  man  could  easily  traverse  the  whole  of  it  in  a  day. 
As  we  know,  John  Jacob  was  an  able  pedestrian,  and  this  accom- 
plishment came  into  immediate  use  in  the  service  of  his  employer, 
the  custom  being  then  for  bakers  to  send  out  their  apprentices  or 
other  workmen  with  large  baskets  of  cake,  rusks,  doughnuts,  etc., 
to  be  sold  either  to  regular  or  transient  customers,  and  in  this 
occupation  Mr.  Astor  earned  his  first  money  in  New  York. 

A  sister  of  Mr.  Astor's,  who  had  also  emigrated  to  this  land  of 
promise,  and  who  had  married  a  distiller  named  Miller,  possibly  a 
little  envious  in  the  latter  years  of  her  life  of  the  astonishing  suc- 
cess of  her  brother,  was  somewhat  fond  of  remarking  in  her  imper- 
fect English,  "That  Yakob  was  noting  put  a  paker  boy,  und  solt 
preat  und  kak." 

It  has  been  stated  that  subsequently  Mr.  Astor  went  into  the 
baking  business  on  his  own  account,  but  no  positive  evidence  is 
found  of  this,  and  it  is  highly  improbable,  as  he  regarded  this  em- 
ployment as  temporary  and  merely  as  the  first  means  offered  of 
replenishing  his  exhausted  resources. 

It  was  while  engaged  in  this  business  of  peddling  cakes  for 
honest  Dietrich  that  young  John  Jacob  discovered  his  brother,  who 
was  then  in  the  employment  of  a  prosperous  butcher.  Had  Henry 
Astor,  who  afterwards  acquired  a  considerable  fortune,  been  in 
business  for  himself,  he  would  have  been  more  easily  found  by  his 
younger  brother. 

The  flutes  which  young  Astor  had  brought  with  him  had  been 
sold,  but  on  these  he  received  only  a  commission,  the  capital  hav- 
ing to  be  returned  to  his  brother  in  London.  These  were  box- 
wood flutes,  having  ten  holes  and  six  keys,  and  were  considered  a 
great  improvement  on  those  in  common  use,  which  had  only  four 
keys.  One  of  these  flutes,  bearing  the  trade  inscription,  "Astor  No. 
6,  W.  Y.  C.  R.  Street,  London,"  is  yet  in  the  possession  of  a  gentle- 


5C  JOHN     JACOB     ASTOR.  f 

man  in  Hoboken,  N.  J.  It  has  been  repaired  more  than  once,  and  is 
still  in  a  usable  condition.  But  modern  instruments  so  far  exceed 
this  specimen  of  a  past  age,  that  its  owner  now  preserves  "  the 
Astor  flute"  more  as  a  relic  than  for  its  mellowness  of  tone. 

The  first  building  which  Mr.  Astor  ever  hired  on  his  own  ac- 
count was  a  dilapidated  wooden  building  standing  detached  on  some 
open  lots  on  Pearl  street,  above  what  is  now  known  as  Franklin 
Square.  Through  some  German  friends  he  had  procured  a  small  con- 
signment of  toys,  and  what  we  should  now  call  "  bric-a-brac  "  objects, 
from  his  fatherland,  all  his  first  savings  having  been  thus  invested : 
many  of  these  were  great  novelties  at  the  time,  and  Mr.  Astor 
soon  doubled  his  money,  and  reinvesting  in  this  profitable  kind  of 
stock,  gradually  accumulated  the  small  capital  with  which  he  made 
his  first  essay  in  the  fur  business.  Having  become  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Peter  Smith  (the  father  of  Gerrit  Smith)  he  made 
several  tours  in  connection  with  him  through  the  central  and 
western  portions  of  the  State  of  New  York ;  taking  with  him 
cheap  trinkets  and  many  articles  from  his  late  stock  in  trade, 
he  bartered  them  with  the  Indians  for  their  furs,  and  it  was 
during  these  first  years  that,  seeing  frequent  opportunities  of  using 
more  money  to  advantage  than  he  possessed,  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  asking  loans  from  his  brother  Henry,  who  had  apparently  pros- 
pered faster  than  himself,  and  was  now  in  business  on  his  own 
account.  For  a  while  the  elder  accommodated  the  young  fur  trader; 
but  the  requests  for  loans  became  too  frequent  to  be  agreeable, 
and  Henry  was  not  very  well  pleased,  and  rather  rebuked  his 
brother,  saying  that  "he  never  borrowed  money  of  any  one."  But 
as  long  as  John  Jacob  could  get  the  money,  he  swallowed  the  rebuffs 
and  rebukes  like  the  practical  philosopher  that  he  was.  At  last 
Henry's  patience  became  exhausted,  and  on  being  asked  for 
another  loan  of  two  hundred  dollars,  he  made  this  proposition:  "  I 
will  not  lend  you  the  two  hundred  dollars,  but  I  will  give  you  one 
hundred  dollars  on  this  condition,  that  you  never  ask  me  to  lend 
you  anything  again,  and  also  that  you  will  not  ask  me  to  become 


JOHN    JACOB     ASTOR.  5! 

security  or  sign  any  notes  for  you."  The  proposition  was  ac- 
cepted. Henry  fulfilled  his  part  on  the  spot,  and  we  believe  it  was 
observed  with  equal  exactitude  by  John  Jacob.  In  1785  Mr.  Astor 
was  so  far  prosperous  from  the  profits  of  his  purchases  of  peltries 
from  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas,  and  their  sale  to  the  larger  dealers, 
that  he  ventured  on  matrimony  with  Miss  Sarah  Todd,  who,  it  is 
said,  brought  him  a  dowry  of  $300. 

He  had  made  several  trips  to  Montreal  and  Ottawa ;  to  the 
former  place  for  the  purpose  of  shipping  his  peltries,  for  at  this 
period,  1785,  there  was  no  organized  fur-trade  or  regular  line  of 
business  in  peltries  in  the  United  States.  All  the  shipments  made 
from  Canada  were  sent  to  London,  as  the  colony  was  not  per- 
mitted to  export  goods  to  any  foreign  country,  the  United  States, 
of  course,  included  in  the  word  "  foreign." 

Perhaps  the  most  profitable  of  Mr.  Astor's  early  ventures  was 
on  the  occasion  of  his  first  commercial  trip  to  London.  He  had 
bought  a  large  number  of  beaver-skins,  which  at  that  time  were 
not  in  demand  for  the  American  market ;  these  were  stored  for 
safe-keeping  in  whiskey-barrels  in  his  cellar.  He  had  no  regular 
connections  in  London  in  the  line  of  his  business,  and  he  was 
somewhat  perplexed  to  know  how  he  could  most  promptly  turn 
his  money  on  them — they  were  drawing  no  interest  in  the  cellar. 
On  this  occasion,  as  on  many  others,  he  consulted  his  wife,  a  very 
shrewd  and  intelligent  woman.  She  advised  that  he  should  take 
them  himself  to  London,  rather  than  to  trust  an  unknown  agent 
with  their  sale.  This  he  finally  decided  to  do,  taking  passage  in 
the  steerage  to  save  expense.  Fortunately,  he  found  not  only  a 
good  market  for  his  furs,  but  also  a  friend  of  his  boyhood's  days, 
through  whom  he  was  aided  materially  in  laying  the  foundation 
of  his  great  fortune,  though  not  realizing  the  favor  at  the  time. 

Having  disposed  of  his  furs  and  purchased  in  return  a  mixed 
lot  of  goods,  such  as  he  thought  would  be  salable  in  New  York, 
he  engaged  for  a  passage  home  in  a  ship  which  was  not  quite 
ready  to  sail;  in  fact  he  was  detained  about  two  weeks.  Of  course 


52  JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR. 

he  was  not  idle ;  these  days'  were  spent  in  visiting  those  places, 
seeking  out  those  persons,  and  making  such  inquiries  as  could 
throw  any  light  upon  the  business  he  was  engaged  in  and  on 
mercantile  affairs  generally.  As  a  matter  of  course  he  did  not 
omit  visiting  the  great  East  India  Company's  house ;  here  he 
learned  that  the  governor  was  a  native  of  Germany,  and  that  he 
also  bore  a  name  that  was  familiar  in  the  old  village  of  Waldorf. 
Mr.  Astor  never  missed  his  opportunities ;  he  sent  in  his  name 
with  a  request  to  see  the  governor.  He  was  at  once  admitted, 
and,  after  a  few  general  remarks,  the  following  colloquy  occurred: 
"Is  not  your  first  name  Wilhelm?"  asked  Astor,  "and  did  you 
not  go  to  school  in  such  a  place?"  "Indeed  I  did,"  replied  the 
governor ;  "  and  now  I  remember  you  very  well,  Hans  Jacob,  and 
right  glad  I  am  to  meet  you  here."  Then  ensued  an  interchange 
of  questions,  in  which  the  progress  of  each  was  disclosed,  the 
interview  terminating  with  the  governor  inviting  Mr.  Astor  to 
dine  with  him.  An  early  day  was  appointed,  and  again  the  old 
friends  met,  the  governor  at  that  time  being  naturally  in  a  posi- 
tion to  look  upon  his  visitor  as  a  protege  to  be  benefited.  He 
asked  Mr.  Astor  what  he  could  do  for  him?  The  latter  affirmed 
there  was  nothing  he  desired  to  ask ;  his  friend  was  persistent, 
but  the  young  merchant  declared  he  "  needed  neither  cash  nor 
credit."  They  met  again,  and  for  several  successive  clays,  and  at 
each  interview  the  governor  seemed  more  and  more  determined 
to  force  some  gift  upon  his  countryman  ;  but  Mr.  Astor's  feeling 
of  independence  was  aroused,  and  he  could  not  be  induced  to 
name  a  favor  he  would  accept.  The  governor,  however,  was  not 
to  be  circumvented,  and  just  before  the  ship  sailed,  which  was  to 
convey  Mr.  Astor  to  New  York,  the  governor,  who  appeared  to 
have  become  quite  attached  to  him,  handed  him  two  papers, 
remarking,  as  he  did  so,  "  Take  these :  you  may  some  day  find 
their  value."  Not  to  hurt  his  friend's  feelings  by  a  refusal  at  the 
moment  of  parting,  Mr.  Astor  took  them  without  knowing  their 
nature  or  how  they  could  benefit  him ;  nor  on  the  first  examina- 


JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR.  53 

tion  of  them  did  he  appreciate  their  worth.  One  was  a  "  Canton 
Prices  Current,"  and  the  other  a  "  Permit,"  "No.  68"  (engrossed 
on  parchment),  authorizing  the  ship  which  carried  it  "  to  trade, 
freely  and  without  molestation,  at  any  of  the  ports  subject  to  the 
East  India  Company."  As  at  that  time  Mr.  Astor  owned  no 
ships,  and  had  no  trade  either  with  Canton  or  any  other  port  in 
the  Orient,  the  value  of  the  documents  looked  rather  mythical. 
On  his  arrival  at  home,  showing  these  papers  to  his  wife,  he 
remarked,  that  "though  apparently  considered  of  value  by  the 
governor,  they  are  of  no  use  to  me,  as  I  have  no  ships."  "  Wait," 
said  Mrs.  Astor,  "perhaps  something  will  occur,  so  that  you  can 
either  use  them  yourself  or  dispose  of  them  to  advantage." 
After  thinking  the  matter  over  a  few  days,  Mrs.  Astor  advised 
her  husband  to  go  and  see  a  merchant  in  the  West  India  trade, 
and  see  if  he  could  be  persuaded  to  send  one  of  his  ships  to  the 
East  Indies,  taking  out  a  mixed  cargo  and  bringing  home  tea. 
Mr.  Astor  coincided  with  this  idea,  and  made  the  proposition  to  a 
Mr.  Livermore,  on  the  condition  that  the  merchant  should  furnish 
the  ship  and  cargo,  and  that  Mr.  Astor  should  give  up  to  him  the 
"Permit"  and  "Prices  Current,"  the  profits  to  be  equally  divided 
between  them.  The  contributions  toward  the  voyage  scarcely 
looked  equal,  and  Mr.  Livermore  at  first  rejected  the' proposition 
as  chimerical.  But  shortly  after,  having  more  maturely  reflected 
upon  it,  the  merchant  came  to  Mr.  Astor  and  closed  with  his  con- 
ditions. At  this  time  there  was  no  trade  between  this  country 
and  the  East  Indies,  nor  was  Canton  open  to  American  vessels ; 
it  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  have  a  British  permit  to  enter  any 
of  those  ports.  Hence  the  value  of  the  privilege  nestling  in  that 
bit  of  parchment  entitled  "  Permit  68." 

A  good-sized  ship  was  selected  and  loaded  with  lead,  scrap- 
iron,  ginseng  (a  root  used  for  medicinal  purposes  by  the  Chinese), 
and,  lastly,  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  Spanish  coin.  The  vessel 
sailed  direct  for  Canton,  and,  thanks  to  the  "  Permit,"  was  allowed 
to  anchor  at  Whampoa,  the  usual  rendezvous  for  foreign  vessels, 


54  JOHN    JACOB   ASTOR. 

just  below  the  city.  The  profit  of  the  ginseng  alone  was  over 
three  hundred  per  cent. ;  the  lead  and  scrap-iron  brought  fabulous 
prices  as  compared  with  the  cost.  With  the  proceeds  of  the 
cargo  the  ship  was  reloaded  with  tea,  which  produced  a  profit  of 
one  dollar  for  every  pound.  The  result  of  the  voyage  was  a  net 
gain  of  $110,000,  of  which  Mr.  Astor  received  his  moiety,  $55,000, 
in  the  shape  of  several  barrels  full  of  milled  dollars.  Of  course 
successive  voyages  followed  this  initial  venture,  and  for  several 
years  Mr.  Astor  followed  up  this  successful  beginning  on  his  own 
account.  Receiving  back  the  magic  "  Permit,"  Mr.  Astor  bought 
a  suitable  vessel  and  an  assorted  cargo,  and  sent  her  to  Canton, 
with  orders  to  touch  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  for  water,  fresh  pro- 
visions and  firewood.  Arrived  at  Canton,  an  intelligent  Mandarin 
came  on  board,  and  noticing  the  "firewood,"  immediately  per- 
ceived that  it  was  sandal-wood,  one  of  the  most  valuable  products 
used  in  Chinese  manufactures.  The  captain  did  not  know  its 
value,  but  perceiving  the  Mandarin's  interest  in  it,  proposed  to 
sell  it,  allowing  the  Chinese  to  make  the  first  offer;  to  his  utter 
astonishment  the  latter  said  he  would  take  the  lot  at  $500  a  ton. 
Everything  seemed  to  turn  to  gold  under  that  precious  "  Permit," 
the  value  of  which  was  now  fully  recognized,  and  for  seventeen 
years  Mr.  Astor  enjoyed  a  complete  monopoly  of  the  American 
trade  with  Canton  in  sandal-wood. 

Finally  a  Boston  merchant  detailed  one  of  his  ships  simply  to 
follow  the  course  of  Mr.  Astor's  vessel  and  to  find  out  the  secret 
of  her  voyage.  Then  the  knowledge  that  sandal-wood  could  be 
obtained  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  was  no  longer  a  secret.  But 
while  the  profitable  China  trade  was  in  progress  Mr.  Astor  still 
pursued  the  fur-trade  with  unabated  interest,  sending  his  richest 
and  finest  peltries  to  Canton,  and  receiving  back  cargoes  of  tea. 
Still  the  British  companies  had  control  of  the  finest  hunting 
grounds,  which  they  protected  from  all  intruders  by  means  of  well- 
garrisoned  trading-posts,  located  at  intervals  from  the  Hudson  Bay 
country  to  beyond  the  Lake  Superior  region.  To  add  to  the  diffi- 


JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR.  55 

culties  of  the  American  hunters,  the  forts  which  were  located  along 
our  northern  frontier,  and  which  had  been  held  by  the  British 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  had  not  been  given  up  at  the 
treaty  of  peace.  Some  excuse  was  always  forthcoming  to  post- 
pone the  day  of  surrender;  and,  while  these  posts  remained  in 
British  hands,  they  completely  dominated  over  the  Indian  hunters 
and  were  able  to  put  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  American 
traders,  even  to  the  petty  device  of  threatening,  persuading, 
menacing  and  bribing  the  boatmen  and  coureur  des  bois  from  engag- 
ing in  the  employment  of  the  latter.  But  a  new  phase  in  the 
affairs  of  the  country  and  the  fur  interest  was  fast  approaching. 
About  1791  Captain  Grey,  of  Boston,  had  discovered  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  river,  and  about  the  same  time  the  valuable  sea 
otter  was  found  to  abound  on  the  Pacific  coast.  In  1/94  the 
British  rule  (under  Jay's  treaty)  abandoned  the  frontier  forts,  thus 
leaving  an  immense  stretch  of  the  northwestern  country  open  to 
the  enterprise  of  American  hunters.  But  the  pursuit  of  peltries 
cannot  be  conducted  profitably  by  individuals  ;  organized  com- 
panies are  indispensable  to  the  most  successful  prosecution  of  this 
industry,  which  requires  large  numbers  of  men,  capable  of  tra- 
versing long  distances  over  land  and  water,  and  able  to  protect 
themselves  from  attacks  of  Indians,  wild  animals,  and  other 
dangers.  By  this  treaty,  also,  greater  freedom  was  given  to 
foreign  commerce,  and  all  looked  favorable  for  Mr.  Astor  to  carry 
out  a  grand  project  which  he  had  been  revolving  in  his  mind — 
namely,  to  secure,  in  his  own  hands,  and  for  the  benefit  of  Ameri- 
can commerce,  the  control  of  the  whole  fur  trade  between  the 
Hudson  and  the  Columbia. 

Mr.  Astor  was  at  this  time  about  thirty-seven  years  old,  and  was 
worth  something  less  than  half  a  million  of  dollars,  which  was  then 
considered  an  enormous  fortune.  His  name  was  already  widely 
known  from  Canton  to  Oregon,  and  his  influence  at  home  was 
commensurate  with  his  financial  pre-eminence ;  it  was  mainly 
through  his  efforts  that  a  law  was  passed  by  Congress  excluding 


56  JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR. 

British  fur-traders  from  American  territory.  American  vessels 
were  already  making  their  way  around  Cape  Horn  in  considerable 
numbers,  and  one  branch  of  commerce  which  they  followed  was 
that  of  supplying  the  Indians  in  the  Russian  possessions  of  the 
northwest  coast  of  America  with  firearms.  The  Russian  govern- 
ment complained  of  this  to  the  United  States.  Thereupon  Mr. 
Astor  proposed  to  send  regular  supply-ships  to  the  Russian  estab- 
lishments, from  which  arms  should  be  excluded,  if  the  government 
on  its  part  would  exclude  all  other  trespassers.  Mr.  Astor's  agent 
to  St.  Petersburg  was  accorded  a  free  passage  in  the  United  States 
ship  "John  Adams."  These  negotiations,  however,  fell  through, 
for  reasons  not  necessary  to  recount  here. 

Another  interruption  to  the  project  of  Mr.  Astor  in  regard  to 
the  establishment  of  his  grand  fur-trading  colony  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  was  the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian  war,  which  con- 
tinued from  1794  to  1797,  during  which  period  it  was  exceedingly 
perilous  for  American  hunters  to  encounter  any  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  for  they  were  all  leagued  with  the  British,  whose  interest  it 
was  to  keep  the  fur  trade  in  their  own  hands.  Another  incident 
which  had  an  influence  on  Mr.  Astor's  grand  scheme  was  the  suc- 
cessful transcontinental  explorations  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  who  had 
followed  the  Missouri  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  across  the  pass  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  upper  waters  of  the  Columbia,  which  they 
claimed  to  have  discovered,  and  descended  that  river  to  its  mouth 
on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Territory  of  Washington.  This  was  in  1804.  The  British  had 
already  established  trading-posts  within  their  possessions  as  far 
west  as  Wisconsin,  and  Mr.  Astor  proposed  to  establish  a  similar 
line  of  posts  south  of  the  British  boundary,  and  extending  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  ;  but  it  was  not  until  1809  that  he  obtained 
a  charter  from  the  Legislature  of  New  York  incorporating  "The 
American  Fur  Company,"  with  a  capital  of  $1,000,000,  all  furnished 
by  Mr.  Astor.  He  was  the  real  company — the  board  of  directors 
were  mere  nominal  partners.  Two  years  later  he  bought  out  the 


JOHN    JACOB    ASTOR.  57 

British  Mackinaw  Company,  and  merged  that  into  a  new  associa- 
tion, called  "The  Southwest  Company."  By  this  purchase  he 
became  the  immediate  proprietor  of  one-half  of  all  the  Indian  es- 
tablishments, and  also  the  stock  on  hand  of  the  Mackinaw  Com- 
pany which  was  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States ;  the 
balance  was  to  be  surrendered  to  him  at  the  end  of  five  years. 
Unfortunately,  the  next  year  war  broke  out  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  which  .prevented  that  attention  of  the 
government  to  the  interests  of  the  northwestern  territory  which  they 
might  otherwise  have  given.  The  plans  were,  however,  presented 
to  President  Jefferson,  who  took  a  warm  interest  in  the  opening  up 
of  this  distant  part  of  the  country  to  American  commerce,  but 
even  he  did  not  then  anticipate  the  possibility  of  a  political  unity 
extending  to  that  extreme  point  on  the  Pacific.  Finding  the 
government  unable,  through  pre-occupation  with  more  pressing 
affairs,  to  practically  assist  in  the  establishment  of  trading-posts, 
Mr.  Astor  proposed  to  the  (British)  "Northwest  Company"  to 
take  a  one-third  interest  in  his  project.  They  requested  "  time  to 
consider,"  and  then  used  the  time,  not  in  considering  his  proposi- 
tion, but  in  secretly  organizing  a  band  of  their  employes  to  steal 
a  march  upon  him  and  his  enterprise  by  endeavoring  to  get  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  first  and  claim  possession  of  the  site  !  But 
Mr.  Astor  was  not  idle.  He  organized  two  parties.  One  to  take 
ship  and  go  round  Cape  Horn,  and  the  other  to  go  overland, 
following  to  some  extent  the  course  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  with  the 
understanding  that  both  parties  should,  on  reaching  the  mouth  of 
tne  Columbia,  combine  in  establishing  a  'permanent  trading-post. 
The  vessel  was  to  cruise  along  the  Pacific  up  to  the  boundary  of 
the  Russian  possessions  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  peltries, 
other  vessels  to  follow  as  supply-ships  and  to  bring  back  such  furs 
as  were  not  destined  to  be  sent  direct  to  Canton. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1810,  the 
ship  "  Tonquin  "  was  despatched,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Thorn,  an  able  man,  but  somewhat  of  a  martinet;  the  crew  was 


58  JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR. 

very  mixed  in  character,  and  besides  there  were  on  board  several 
persons  having  some  interest  in  the  enterprise  called  "  partners  " — 
really  agents  of  Mr.  Astor.  These  were  all  Scotchmen  who  had 
been  in  the  employment  of  the  "  Northwest  Company,"  and  had 
been  selected  for  their  experience  and  supposed  efficiency ;  one  of 
them,  Mr.  Dougal,  considered  himself  Mr.  Astor's  proxy.  Then 
there  were  a  number  of  clerks,  mostly  young  French  Canadians, 
inclined  to  scientific  observations  rather  than  seamanship,  and  es- 
pecially given  to  "  taking  notes  "  and  "  writing  journals,"  an  occu- 
pation which  the  captain  detested.  One  of  these  young  men 
named  Gabriel  Franchere  afterwards  published  an  account  of  the 
voyage  and  settlement.  The  elements  of  discord  were  abundant, 
and  not  infrequently  came  to  the  surface.  On  the  25th  of  Decem- 
ber, the  "Tonquin"  doubled  Cape  Horn,  and  on  the  nth  of  Feb- 
ruary the  Sandwich  Islands  were  in  sight.  There  the  captain  had 
orders  to  stop  for  a  supply  of  fresh  provisions,  and  he  also  hired  a 
number  of  laborers  and  boatmen  to  accompany  them  to  the  des- 
tined settlement  on  the  Columbia,  where  the  ship  arrived  on  the 
2 2d  of  March,  having  been  more  than  seven  moaths  on  the  voy- 
age. A  site,  however,  was  not  selected  until  the  I2th  of  April, 
when  the  cargo  was  landed  at  Point  George.  When  a  residence, 
storehouse  and  powder  magazine  had  been  completed,  the  place 
was  ceremoniously  christened  Astoria. 

When  the  land  party  sent  out  by  the  "Northwest  Company," 
to  forestall  Mr.  Astor's  plans,  appeared  on  the  scene  the  American 
flag  was  flying,  and  discomfited  they  returned  to  Montreal.  The 
"  Tonquin  "  was  ordered  to  continue  her  voyage  to  the  north  in 
pursuit  of  peltries,  and  it  did  reach  the  vicinity  of  Vancouver's  Is- 
land. But  the  captain  had  succeeded  in  quarrelling  with  the  native 
Indians,  and  had  also  neglected  Mr.  Astor's  express  warning,  "  not 
to  let  too  many  Indians  come  aboard."  In  revenge  for  a  blow 
given  to  one  of  their  number,  they  beset  the  ship  during  the  early 
morning  watch,  attacked  the  officers  and  crew,  and  killed  the  cap- 
tain and  many  others.  Mr.  Lewis,  seeing  that  the  struggle  was 


JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR.  59 

hopeless  against  such  numbers,  beckoned  still  more  on  board, 
descended  to  the  magazine,  applied  a  match,  and  blew  up  the  ves- 
sel, destroying  hundreds  of  natives,  and  sacrificing  his  own  life  for 
the  purpose  of  revenge. 

When  the  news  reached  Mr.  Astor,  and  it  was  over  two  years 
before  he  heard  it,  he  spoke  of  it  with  perfect  coolness  as  a  "  cal- 
amity" the  whole  results  of  which  he  could  not  well  foresee. 

The  fortunes  of  Mr.  Astor's  land  party  were  varied  by  dangers 
and  suffering,  but  they  reached  Astoria  in  safety.  The  distance 
from  St.  Louis,  whither  they  went  from  New  York,  in  a  direct  line, 
is  not  more  than  eighteen  hundred  miles,  but  the  distance  made 
by  this  party  in  their  wanderings  was  over  thirty-five  hundred 
miles,  and  they  consumed  seventeen  months  in  making  it. 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Astor  despatched  a  supply  ship  in  the  autumn 
of  181 1  to  the  little  colony,  before  any  news  had  reached  him  from 
either  expedition.  The  arrival  of  this  ship  with  men  and  pro- 
visions gave  new  life  to  the  colonists,  and  all  would  have  been  well, 
perhaps,  but  for  the  news  of  the  declaration  of  war  between  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States.  Most  of  the  leading  men  there  were 
British  subjects,  and  the  few  young  Americans  had  little  influence 
in  the  councils  of  the  Scotch  "  partners,"  who  were  little  inclined 
to  risk  their  lives  or  personal  interests  in  the  defence  of  Mr.  As- 
tor's rights  or  property.  The  most  trying  part  of  this  whole  busi- 
ness to  Mr.  Astor,  except  the  final  loss  of  Astoria,  was  the  total 
absence  of  news  for  such  a  long  period.  His  first  party  overland 
started  in  June,  1810,  and  he  received  not  a  word  as  to  their  fate 
until  June,  1813,  when  he  heard  of  their  safe  arrival,  and  before  he 
had  learned  the  fate  of  the  "  Tonquin,"  he  had  sent  a  second  sup- 
ply ship  to  the  Pacific.  This  vessel  was  lost.  Still  mindful  of  the 
fate  of  those  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  he  was  about  to  send 
a  fourth  vessel  to  their  relief,  when  the  port  of  New  York  was 
blockaded  by  British  cruisers  and  the  project  was  no  longer  feasi- 
ble. At  this  juncture,  Mr.  Astor  appealed  to  President  Monroe 
for  aid  in  protecting  "  the  American  settlement  at  Astoria  on 


6O  JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR. 

the  Pacific."  The  President  saw  the  importance  of  retaining 
that  foothold  for  American  commerce,  and  had  already  ordered 
the  "  John  Adams "  to  be  prepared  for  sea,  when  the  pressing 
request  of  Commodore  Chauncey  on  the  lakes  for  reinforcements, 
caused  the  first  order  to  be  countermanded,  and  Mr.  Astor  was 
again  disappointed. 

The  British  had  already  ordered  a  man-of-war  "  to  proceed  to 
Astoria,  destroy  the  fort,  seize  the  factory  and  take  possession  of 
the  place."  This  news  had  been  brought  overland  to  the  little  set- 
tlement by  an  agent  of  the  "  Northwest  (Fur)  Company,"  and  in 
consequence,  the  head  of  the  colony,  Mr.  Dougal,  sold  out  all  Mr. 
Astor's  interest  in  the  place,  with  the  stock  of  furs  on  hand,  to  the 
wily  company.  When  the  British  cruiser  came  in  sight  of  the 
"  fort,"  and  saw  a  mere  log  stockade  and  but  a  handful  of  men,  the 
captain  and  officers  were  highly  indignant.  He,  however,  took 
possession,  and  the  English  flag  was  soon  floating  over  the  debris 
of  Mr.  Astor's  hopes  in  Astoria,  and  the  name  of  the  place  was 
changed  to  that  of  Fort  George.  This  was  on  the  I2th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1814.  The  Americans  at  the  fort  were  satisfied  that  treachery 
had  been  perpetrated.  Mr.  Dougal  had  sold  the  stock  far  below 
its  value,  and  no  sooner  had  the  agent  of  the  "  Northwestern  Com- 
pany "  received  it  than  he  caused  it  to  be  conveyed  in  canoes  to  a 
place  of  safety  up  the  river,  where  the  British  captain  could  not  fol- 
low with  his  vessel — which,  at  least,  proves  that  Mr.  Dougal 
might  have  taken  the  same  precaution.  He  with  the  other  Scotch 
partners  immediately  transferred  their  service  to  the  British  com- 
pany. The  Americans  made  the  best  of  their  way  home  overland. 
It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  on  the  treaty  of  peace  Astoria  was  re- 
stored to  the  American  government,  and  the  original  name  was 
once  more  recognized. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  grandest  schemes  ever  projected  by  an 
American  merchant  for  practically  extending  the  boundaries  of 
the  country,  and  uniting  its  extreme  longitudinal  limits  by  well- 
defined  paths  of  commerce,  linked  together  by  the  only  means 
then  possible — the  trading-post  and  fort. 


JOHN    JACOB    ASTOR.  6 1 

Real  estate  had  now  become  Mr.  Astor's  leading  interest.  He 
bought  "  down  town  "  for  present  income,  "  up  town  "  for  future 
profit.  He  owned  blocks  of  houses  in  every  section  of  the  city,  and 
also  had  bought  large  tracts  of  land  on  the  Hudson  river,  between  • 
Forty-second  street  and  Fifty-first  street,  and  on  the  East  river,  and 
in  various  portions  of  the  upper  part  of  the  island.  He  built  the 
first  hotel  of  any  considerable  size  in  the  city.  This  was  the 
"  City  Hotel,"  on  Broadway,  near  Trinity  Church ;  this  structure 
has  long  since  been  demolished  to  make  room  for  business 
houses.  Afterward  he  built  the  Astor  House,  situated  in  the  very 
"  eye  of  New  York,"  and  he  also  built  the  Park  Theatre,  on  Park 
Row,  which  has  also  given  place  to  the  progress  of  business, 

At  one  period  Mr.  Astor  was  in  the  habit  of  investing  two- 
thirds  of  his  net  income  in  land,  for  which  he  always  paid  cash. 
He  never  mortgaged  anything,  nor  made  one  investment  carry 
another.  A  good  story  is  told  of  him  in  connection  with  his  real 
estate  operations.  When  the  project  was  first  broached  of  build- 
ing the  Erie  railroad,  the  late  Judge  Bruckholtz  Livingston  and 
Mr.  Joseph  Hoxie  called  on  Mr.  Astor  to  induce  him  to  help  the 
enterprise  by  taking  some  of  the  stock.  In  their  zeal  they  urged 
with  great  earnestness  the  certainty  that  the  opening  of  the  road 
would  greatly  raise  the  value  of  real  estate  in  New  York.  This 
was  a  mistaken  way  to  argue  with  him,  as  they  soon  found  out: 
"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  in  his  somewhat  querulous  way,  when  he 
did  not  favor  a  proposition,  "I  do  not  want  to  sell  real  estate;  / 
want  to  buy!" 

Mr.  Astor  continued  in  active  business  about  fifty  years,  and 
lived  twenty-five  after  that  in  opulent  retirement  with  his  children 
and  grandchildren.  He  had  two  principal  modes  of  recreation : 
one  was  horse-back  riding,  and  the  other  was  the  drama.  He 
was  all  his  life  an  early  riser,  at  first  from  necessity,  and  afterward 
through  habit.  While  other  merchants  went  to  their  offices  at 
half-past  nine  or  ten  in  the  morning,  he  was  there  by  seven 
o'clock ;  but  he  was  capable  of  such  close  application,  that  he 


62  JOHN   JACOB    ASTOR. 

generally  got  through  the  business  of  the  day  by  2  P.  M.  ;  then  he 
took  his  horse  and  rode  out  into  the  suburbs,  no  doubt  casting  a 
keen  eye  on  any  desirable  lots  which  were  likely  to  come  into  the 
market.  In  the  evening  he  often  went  to  the  theatre,  and  was 
seen  there  on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  received 
the  news  of  the  destruction  of  the  "Tonquin."  One  of  his  friends, 
remarking  to  him  that  he  "  should  not  think  he  would  be  in  good 
spirits  enough  to  be  out  at  the  play,"  he  responded:  "What  do 
you  think  I  should  do,  stay  at  home  and  cry?" 

One  of  Mr.  Astor's  striking  characteristics  was  the  coolness 
with  which  he  received  ill  news ;  another  was  the  patience  with 
which  he  could  wait  for  results,  good  or  bad.  He  also  had  an 
exceedingly  retentive  memory,  and  could  tell  the  exact  details  of 
events  which  had  taken  place  a  dozen  years  before,  especially  if 
these  were  connected  with  a  bargain. 

Mr.  Astor  was  of  great  benefit  in  many  ways  to  New  York,  but 
none  of  his  improvements  in  building  up  the  city  of  his  adoption 
are  likely  to  be  remembered  by  any  save  the  local  historian  except 
the  one  great  literary  institution  which  bears  his  name — the  ASTOR 
LIBRARY. 

The  precise  form  which  Mr.  Astor's  great  benefaction  took  was 
probably  owing  to  the  advice  of  his  friend,  the  late  Henry  Bre- 
voort,  Esq.,  who  was  not  only  a  highly-educated  man  himself,  but 
a  patron  of  learning  and  all  the  refining  arts.  Mr.  Astor,  in  the 
latter  years  of  his  life,  frequently  expressed  the  intention  of  leav- 
ing a  handsome  bequest  to  the  city  in  which  he  had  accumulated 
his  great  fortune,  and  Mr.  Brevoort,  agreeing,  strongly  urged  the 
establishment  of  a  free  building  for  reference,  on  the  plan  of  the 
library  in  the  British  Museum. 

.Mr.  John  Jacob  Astor  died  on  the  2gth  of  March,  1848,  in  the 
eighty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  had  by  will,  executed  so  early  as 
1836,  bequeathed  the  sum  of  $400,000  for  the  establishment  of  the 
long  contemplated  library ;  he  had  selected  the  lots  himself  on 
Lafayette  place,  and,  with  his  usual  caution  in  all  money  transac- 


JOHN     JACOB     ASTOR.  63 

tions,  took  every  care  to  have  his  will  in  this  particular  strictly 
f  carried  out.  By  the  words  of  this  instrument  his  executors  were 
authorized  "  to  erect  a  suitable  building-,  to  supply  books,  maps, 
charts,  casts,  statues,  models,  drawings,  paintings,  engravings  and 
furniture  upon  an  ample  scale  and  liberal  character."  The  library 
was  also  to  be  absolutely  free,  and  to  be  open  and  "  accessible  at 
all  reasonable  hours."  Eleven  trustees  were  to  be  selected  from 
among  "  professional  and  educated  men."  The  mayor  of  New 
York,  and  the  chancellor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  were  to  be 
always  included  in  the  number.  These  trustees  were  to  be  sub- 
ject to  legal  supervision  to  be  assured  against  breach  of  trust. 
All  the  funds  for  this  he  directed  should  be  invested  in  the  Public 
Debt  of  the  United  States,  the  States  of  the  Union  or  the  city  of 
New  York — the  testator  wisely  adding  "  as  long  as  such  invest- 
ments may  be  had." 

The  executors  were  also  to  procure  "  the  necessary  legal  assure- 
ment  for  securing  the  application  of  the  fund."  The  list  of  the  first 
trustees  chosen  is  interesting,  being  all  well-known  men — namely, 
Washington  Irving,  William  B.  Astor,  Daniel  Lord,  Jr.,  James  G. 
King,  Joseph  G.  Cogswell,  Fitz-Greene  Halleck,  Henry  Brevoort, 
Jr.,  Samuel  B.  Ruggles,  Samuel  Ward,  Jr.,  and,  by  codicil,  Charles 
Astor  Bristed. 

The  first  books  intended  for  the  library  had  been  bought  in  the 
spring  of  1839,  and  consisted  of  forty  volumes  from  Mayor  Doug- 
las'  sale  of  books.  They  were  principally  historical,  travels,  or 
antiquities  and  architecture.  This  nucleus,  with  others  subse- 
quently added,  were  stored  in  a  house  hired  for  the  purpose  in 
Bond  street.  The  year  in  which  Mr.  Astor  died,  1848,  was  that 
exciting  time  which  witnessed  the  great  upheaval  of  revolutionary 
forces  in  Europe,  depriving  many  princes  of  their  patrimony  in  its 
early  stages,  and  scattering  the  leaders  of  progress  in  its  subsid- 
ence, causing  on  both  sides  great  fluctuations  in  the  conditions  of 
individuals.  Many  distinguished  persons  became  either  voluntary 
or  involuntary  exiles;  and,  by  the  disturbance  of  fortunes  and 


64  JOHN   JACOB   ASTOR. 

estates,  many  valuable  libraries  were  thrown  upon  the  European 
market.  It  was  a  poor  time  to  sell,  but  a  very  good  one  to  buy, 
and,  mindful  of  the  wishes  of  his  father,  Mr.  William  B.  Astor 
seized  the  opportunity,  authorizing  the  late  Dr.  Cogswell  to  pro- 
ceed to  Europe  and  make  such  purchases  as  he  thought  suitable, 
furnishing  money  for  this  object  from  his  own  funds. 

The  only  work  bought  personally  by  the  founder  for  his  great 
library  was  "Audubon's  Birds  of  America."  Besides  his"  bequest 
for  the  library,  Mr.  Astor  left  $20,000  to  the  Society  for  the  Home 
for  Aged  Indigent  Females,  and  $25,000  to  the  German  Society 
for  the  city  of  New  York,  specially  specifying  that  in  the  office  of 
this  society  "  there  should  be  employed  German-speaking  persons, 
to  give  aid  and  advice  to  German  emigrants,"  a  want  he  had  per- 
haps felt  himself  when  he  landed  a  stranger  on  these  shores.  He 
also  left  $50,000  "for  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the  village  of  Wal- 
dorf, in  the  duchy  of  Baden,  in  Germany."  This  request  requires 
that  "  a  building  should  be  erected  in  which  the  ignorant  were  to 
be  instructed."  The  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  has  taken  great  in- 
terest in  seeing  that  this  fund  was  properly  administered. 

Mr.  Astor  had  been  brought  up  in  the  tenets  of  the  Lutheran 
faith,  and  he  never  changed  on  that  point.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  German  Reformed  congregation  of  New  York,  and,  to  his 
latest  day,  held  in  veneration  the  Protestant  Bible  and  prayer- 
book  of  his  youth.  He  was  also  a  Freemason,  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  aristocratic  Holland  lodge,  and  through  that 
august  body  received  the  only  decorative  title  he  ever  enjoyed. 
By  his  brethren  of  the  mystic  tie  he  was  called  "  Sir  John  Jacob." 

Mr.  Astor  was  not  what  would  be  called  a  liberal  man.  He 
detested  little  indiscriminate  charities,  and,  before  he  gave  away 
his  good  money,  would  know  exactly  how  it  was  to  be  used.  His 
great  physical  trial  was  the  partial  loss  of  eye-sight  in  advanced 
age,  but  he  bore  this,  as  he  always  did  the  irremediable,  with  pa- 
tience. Mr.  Astor  was  the  father  of  seven  children,  three  sons 
and  four  daughters.  One  son  and  one  daughter  died  young,  and 


W.  B.  ASTOR. 


JOHN    JACOB    ASTOR.  65 

his  second  son,  John  Jacob,  was  afflicted  with  chronic  brain  trouble 
nearly  all  his  life,  so  that  he  was  never  engaged  in  business.  His 
eldest  daughter,  Magdalen,  married,  first,  Governor  Bentzen,  a 
native  of  Denmark.  He  was  Governor  of  the  island  of  Santa 
Cruz.  There  were  two  children  born  of  this  marriage.  After 
the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Bentzen  married  an  Englishman, 
the  Rev.  John  Bristed.  They  had  one  son,  Charles  Bristed, 
born  October  6,  1820.  In  1844  he  took  the  name  of  his  grand- 
father as  Charles  Astor  Bristed,  and,  under  the  nom  de  plume  of 
"  Carl  Benson,"  was  known  as  a  writer  of  several  interesting  books 
and  sketches.  He  is  the  only  one  of  the  Astors  who  has  "dropped 
into  literature  "  deceased. 

The  third  daughter,  Dorothea,  married  Walter  Langdon,  of 
New  Hampshire.  The  fourth  daughter,  Eliza,  married  Count 
Vincent  Rumpff,  minister  at  Paris  for  the  Hanse  towns  or  free 
cities  of  Germany.  Of  the  eldest  son  we  have  more  to  say.  Mr. 
John  Jacob  Astor  left  to  this  son  $20,000,000. 

WILLIAM   B.  ASTOR. 

Mr.  William  Backhouse  Astor  was  born  in  New  York  on  the 
1 9th  of  September,  1793,  at  147  Broadway,  then  occupied  by  his 
father  as  both  store  and  dwelling-house.  After  receiving  a  good 
education  at  Columbia  College,  New  York,  he  spent  several  years 
in  Germany  at  the  University  of  Gottingen,  and  was  a  pupil  of 
Bunsen's.  On  his  return  home  he  engaged  in  business,  assisting 
his  father  in  the  management  of  his  already  large  real  estate  in- 
terests. Mr.  Astor's  natural  taste,  fostered  by  study  and  the 
society  of  scholars  abroad,  inclined  him  to  literary  pursuits,  but  he 
was  too  sensible  of  the  great  interests  at  stake  in  his  father's  pos- 
sessions to  gratify  the  desire  of  the  scholar  at  the  expense  of  the 
patrimony  which  his  father  had  acquired  by  years  of  toil  and 
anxiety.  He  therefore  accepted  his  destiny,  and  went  to  his  desk 
in  the  office  with  as  much  punctuality  as  the  most  dependent 
clerk  employed  there. 
5 


6g  JOHN     JACOB     ASTOR. 

As  years  passed  on  he  gradually  assumed  the  care  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  for  more  than  twenty  years  before  his  father's  death, 
was  virtually  the  head  of  the  firm.  As  for  many  years  the  Astors 
had  withdrawn  from  the  competitions  of  commerce,  and  devoted 
all  their  attention  to  their  vast  real  estate  interests,  William  B. 
had  none  of  those  adventurous  projects  on  hand  which  have 
added  such  a  romantic  interest  to  the  first  half  of  old  John  Jacob's 
life.  William  B.'s  tastes  and  manners  were  quiet  and  unobtru- 
sive ;  he  did  not  exploit  himself  either  in  any  boisterous  or  fantas- 
tic way  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  groundlings ;  he  gave  no 
grand  parties  or  balls,  entertaining  his  intimate  friends  in  an 
unostentatious  manner,  all  the  time  steadily  adding  to  the  value 
of  the  great  fortune  which  he  had  received.  Even  before  the 
death  of  his  father,  he  had  received  a  bequest  of  '$500,000  from 
his  uncle  Henry ;  so  that,  to  preserve  this,  was  work  enough,  and 
Mr.  William  B.  showed  no  feverish  anxiety  to  increase  it ;  but 
increase  it  must  from  its  very  nature ;  the  value  of  such  property 
rising  with  the  increase  of  population,  and  the  tendency  of  busi- 
ness to  press  up  town,  where  much  of  the  Astor  property  is 
located. 

Mr.  William  B.  Astor  resided  for  many  years  in  Lafayette  Place, 
next  door  to  the  south  side  of  the  library.  He  married,  in  1818, 
Margaret,  the  daughter  of  General  Armstrong,  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  second  wife  was  Alida  Livingston.  Of  this  marriage  there 
were  seven  children ;  like  his  father,  he  lost  two,  it  being  rather  a 
singular  coincidence  that  these  deceased  children  of  each  family 
bore  the  same  name — "  Henry  "  and  "  Sarah."  The  eldest  daugh- 
ter, Emily,  married  Mr.  Samuel  Ward,  Jr. ;  Laura  E.  became  Mrs. 
Francklin  Delano,  named  above  as  the  donor  of  the  classical  busts 
in  the  Astor  Library.  Alida  married  Mr.  John  Gary.  The  eldest 
son,  JOHN  JACOB,  the  present  head  of  the  family,  was  born  in  1821. 
He  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  S.  Gibbes. 

MR.  JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR  has  the  quiet  tastes  of  his  father ;  he  is 
a  happy  example  of  the  kind  of  citizens,  often  derived  from  for- 


JOHN     JACOB     ASTOR.  67 

eign  stock,  who  are  more  American  in  their  feelings  than  some 
of  the  native-born  ;  he  is  a  gentleman  of  education  and  good  pres- 
ence. He  accompanied  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  as  an  aide-de- 
'  camp  on  General  McClellan's  staff,  and  saw  considerable  service 
in  the  field.  He  has  one  son,  and  the  name  which  he  bestowed 
upon  his  only  child  shows  that  the  origin  of  the  family  is  rather  a 
matter  of  pride  with  him  than  the  contrary.  The  boy  was  named 
William  Waldorf,  and  thus  the  name  of  that  little  German  hamlet 
is  now  borne  proudly  back  to  Europe,  in  the  person  of  WILLIAM 
WALDORF  ASTOR,  the  present  American  minister  to  Rome.  Mr. 
William  W.  had  served  in  the  State  Legislature  previous  to  his 
appointment  abroad.  He  is  one  of  the  most  energetic  of  the 
younger  branches  of  the  family,  and  the  first  who  has  mixed  in 
the  local  politics  of  the  city.  He  was  born  in  1848,  and  is  the 
fourth  in  direct  descent  from  the  founder  of  the  family  in  New 
York.  From  his  grandfather,  the  late  William  B.  Astor,  he 
inherited  a  full  moiety  of  the  vast  accumulations  of  property  held 
by  him.  Its  value  is  not  known,  but  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liam B.  it  was  estimated  anywhere  between  $50,000,000  and 
$100,000,000. 

William  Waldorf  Astor  was  educated  partly  in  New  York,  com- 
pleting his  university  studies  in  Germany,  and  art  in  Rome.  He 
subsequently  studied  law  in  Columbia  College,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  It  was  never  his  intention  to  practice  in  the  courts, 
but  he  wisely  thought  that  a  knowledge  of  law  would  be 
extremely  useful  in  the  management  of  his  immense  property, 
enabling  him  to  prevent  litigation,  and  to  avoid  the  thraldom  con- 
sequent upon  the  forced  employment  of  legal  agents.  Although 
Mr.  William  B.  Astor  left  to  his  sons  only  a  life-interest  in  the 
estate,  conferring  the  fee-simple  upon  his  grandsons,  this  disposi- 
tion of  his  property  does  not  seem  to  have  affected  the  respect 
with  which  at  least  young  William  W.  always  regarded  his  father, 
carrying  this  deference  even  to  the  extent  of  making  his  accept- 
ance of  a  political  nomination  contingent  upon  his  father's 


63  JOHN    JACOB    ASTOR. 

approval ;  yet  at  that  very  time  he  had  the  sole  control  of  the 
vast  monetary  interests  of  the  family.  When  apprised  of  the 
nomination  of  .his  son  to  an  elective  office,  Mr.  John  Jacob  was 
much  gratified.  It  was  while  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature 
that  young  Mr.  Astor  married  Miss  Mary  D.,  daughter  of  James 
W.  Paul,  of  Philadelphia;  he  subsequently  ran  for  Congress  in 
the  Eleventh  New  York  district,  but  was  badly  beaten  by  the 
Democratic  candidate,  Mr.  Roswell  P.  Flower ;  Mr.  Astor's  course 
in  the  Assembly  had  not  been  satisfactory  to  the  majority  of  his 
constituents  on  several  points. 

Mr.  William  W.'s  specialty  is  love  of  art,  particularly  sculpture. 
He  is  also  a  most  genial  host,  and  his  friends  say  that  "  his  wine 
does  not  give  one  the  headache."  In  Rome  Mr.  Astor  inhabits  a 
suite  of  apartments — fine  salons  en  suite,  of  magnificent  size,  in 
one  of  those  enormous  palaces  to  be  met  with,  for  hire,  only  in 
Rome.  On  the  occasion  of  "  Washington's  Birthday,"  the  present 
year,  Mr.  Astor  gave  a  reception  to  a  thousand  invited  guests  at 
his  home  and  official  residence,  in  the  colossal  Palazzo  Ruspigliosi, 
when  the  American  flag  was  entwined  in  fraternal  folds  with  the 
emblem  of  redeemed  Italy.  Though  Mr.  Astor  has  made  some 
mistakes  in  his  political  career,  he  is  not  above  learning  from 
experience.  We  believe  he  has  a  bright  future  before  him.  . 

Mr.  William  B.  Astor  died  at  his  house  on  Fifth  avenue,  corner 
of  Thirty-fifth  street,  November  24th,  1875.  One  of  the  finest,  as 
it  is  also  one  of  the  rarest  works  of  art  permanently  located  in 
New  York  is  the  Altar  and  Reredos  erected  in  the  chancel  of  Trinity 
Church,  to  his  memory,  by  his  sons,  John  Jacob  and  William.  The 
Reredos  is  thirty-five  feet  in  width,  and  its  central  apex  reaches 
fully  twenty  feet  from  the  floor.  It  is  designed  in  the  perpendicu- 
lar style  of  Gothic,  so  as  to  harmonize  with  the  general  architecture 
of  the  church.  The  chief  material  of  which  it  is  composed  is  Caen 
stone,  and  it  is  adorned  with  a  profusion  of  delicate  carved  work ; 
much  of  this  representing  natural  foliage.  In  the  lower  portion  on 
each  side  of  the  Altar  are  three  square  panels  filled  with  colored 


JOHN    JACOB     ASTOR.  69 

mosaics  in  geometrical  patterns ;  above  the  line  of  the  super-altar 
are  seven  panels  of  white  marble  sculptured  in  alto-relievo,  repre- 
senting incidents  in  the  life  of  Christ,  immediately  preceding  and 
subsequent  to  the  Last  Supper ;  this  is  modeled  after  the  cele- 
brated picture  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci. 

The  cost  of  this  superb  piece  of  church  decoration  and  filial  me- 
morial is  not  known,  the  brothers  Astor  never  having  divulged  it. 
It  is  estimated  that  it  cannot  have  been  less  than  $50,000.  Part  of 
the  carving  was  done  in  England,  but  much  of  it  was  by  American 
artisans ;  as  was  its  erection  under  the  direction  of  a  New  York 
architect.  Unfortunately  all  this  beautiful  work  is  comparatively 
lost  to  the  view  of  the  public.  The  great  depth  of  the  chancel  pre- 
vents the  finest  portion  of  the  work  being  perceived ;  the  light 
entering  from  the  window  above,  at  the  back,  tends  to  obscure 
rather  than  to  display  it.  On  vainly  endeavoring  to  examine  it 
from  the  front  for  the  nave,  many  would-be  admirers  feel  inclined 
to  agree  with  the  poet : 

"  Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene  " 

The  dark  unfathomed  depths  of  chancel  bear ; 
Full  many  a  flower  was  carv'd  to  hide  unseen 
And  waste  its  beauty  on  the  gloomy  air. 

Some  device  for  throwing  light  upon  this  fine  piece  of  work  is 
sadly  needed,  and  is  due  to  the  Astor  brothers  who  presented  it 
to  the  church. 

MR.  WILLIAM  ASTOR,  one  of  the  above  donors,  and  second  son 
of  William  B.,  resides  like  his  brother  on  Fifth  avenue,  in  a 
spacious  and  elegant  house,  but  not  of  the  ornate  description  of 
some  more  recently  erected.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Abraham 
Schermerhorn,  and  this  lady  is  the  acknowledged  leader  of  fashion- 
able society  in  New  York ;  their  house  is  a  reservoir  of  art  objects. 
Mr.  Astor's  picture  gallery  vies  with  the  best  in  the  city,  while 
statues,  tapestries,  Sevres  china  and  other  bric-a-brac  curi  meet 
one  at  every  step.  The  amount  and  beauty  of  Mrs.  Astor's  dia- 
monds and  other  precious  gems  would  create  envy  in  the  breast 


-o  JOHN     JACOB     ASTOR. 

of  many  a  European  princess.  She  is  said  to  possess  the  only  solid 
gold  dinner-service  in  the  United  States.  Though  shining  in  so- 
ciety, Mrs.  William  Astor  has  thought  for  other  objects ;  with  the 
utmost  savoirvivre  she  knows  how  to  interest  herself  for  the  needy. 
She  has  five  children  of  her  own  in  New  York,  but  it  is  sometimes 
jocosely  said  that  "  she  has  a  thousand  out  West,"  which  means 
that  she  has  so  materially  assisted  the  "  Children's  Aid  Society," 
as  to  have  been  the  means  of  placing  over  a  thousand  destitute 
little  waifs  of  the  metropolis  in  comfortable  Western  homes.  She 
is  especially  skillful  in  organizing  benefit  performances  for  the  aid  of 
deserving  objects,  and  as  we  write,  we  notice  her  name  in  the 
Herald  of  April  i,  1883,  heading  the  list  of  nearly  one  hundred 
lady  patronesses  of  a  public  entertainment,  to  be  given  for  the 
benefit  of  the  "  Bartholdi  Fund,"  which  may  be  considered  an  ob- 
ject of  national  interest. 

The  Astor  family  differ  from  most  of  our  wealthy  men  in  the 
fact  that  they  have  never  haunted  Wall  street,  or  dealt  in  fanciful 
speculations ;  they  have,  as  a  practice,  avoided  railroad  stocks  and 
Western  mines;  they  have  scorned  petroleum  and  "oil  wells;" 
and  instead,  clung  with  great  pertinacity  to  what  lawyers  call  the 
"  realties."  Solid  city  lots,  and  solid  structures  upon  them,  consti- 
tute the  basis  of  their  wealth  ;  and,  in  the  ownership  of  this  class 
of  property,  they  have  no  peer  in  the  city,  or,  we  believe,  elsewhere 
in  the  United  States.  This  family  rates  A  i  in  the  "American 
Lloyd's,"  which  takes  note  of  the  substantial  qualities  of  so-called 
"  great  fortunes." 

It  has  been  announced  very  recently  that  Mr.  John  Jacob  Astor 
has  deeded  all  his  property  to  his  only  son.  It  is  said  that  this 
step  is  taken  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Astor  is  an  old 
man,  and  the  value  of  his  immense  estate  would  otherwise,  in  case 
of  his  death,  be  made  public.  His  son  receives  everything; 
subject,  however,  to  a  pension  for  himself  of  $100,000  yearly. 
Another  point  secured  by  this  arrangement  is,  that  the  estate  will 
not  be  divided -among  different  heirs.  There  has  never  been  any 


JOHN     JACOB     ASTOR.  /I 

litigation  in  the  Astor  family,  and  the  wise  heads  of  it  propose 
that  there  shall  not  be  any  in  future.  The  New  York  World,  in 
commenting  upon  this  step  of  Mr.  Astor's,  says: 

"  It  has  always  been  the  idea  of  Mr.  John  Jacob  Astor's  life 
practically  to  entail  his  property,  and  to  have  the  estate  remain 
intact  from  generation  to  generation,  as  in  England.  The  present 
John  Jacob  Astor's  father  died  about  eight  years  ago,  bequeathing 
his  property  to  John  Jacob  and  William  Astor  and  to  his  grand- 
daughter, the  late  Mrs.  John  W.  Chanler. 

"At  that  time,  the  estate  was  worth  about  $30,000,000  or 
$40,000,000.  It  was  then  mainly  unproductive.  John  Jacob  Astor 
received  the  largest  part  of  the  estate,  including  the  Astor  House, 
which  was  deeded  to  him  for  $i.  The  golden  principle  of  the 
Astor  family  was  never  to  build  until  forced  to  do  so,  and  when 
a  building  was  put  up  it  was  intended  to-  last  for  years.  The 
estate  grew  more  valuable  each  year,  and  solid  houses  were 
built  upon  the  land,  until  to-day  the  value  is  really  unknown. 
Most  of  the  property  lies  between  Twenty-third  street  and  Fiftieth 
street,  from  Eighth  to  Third  Avenue.  Murray  Hill  lies  in  the 
heart  of  the  family  possessions.  Blocks  and  blocks  of  houses  here 
belong  to  John  Jacob  Astor,  all  of  which  he  has  deeded  to  his  son. 
The  value  of  John  Jacob  Astor's  estate  is  estimated  at  from,  be- 
tween $60,000,000  and  $70,000,000,  and  William  B.'s  estate  at 
something  less.  The  present  Mr.  Astor's  idea  is  for  his  son  to 
follow  the  same  course  he  has,  and  so  on  through  generations." 


JOHN   W.  MACKAY. 

A  GREAT  many  persons  have  heard,  and  even  used,  the  word 
"  Big  Bonanza  "  who  have  no  idea,  or  a  very  vague  conception,  of 
what  it  means.  Out  of  ten  persons  to  whom  the  question  was  ad- 
dressed, "What  is  the  Big  Bonanza?"  nine  answered  that  they 
"  believed  it  was  a  gold  mine."  How  the  word  bonanza  came  to 
be  introduced  into  California  is  not  now  known,  though  it  was  first 
applied  to  that  immense  body  of  ore  discovered  in  the  "  Consoli- 
dated Virginia "  and  "  California "  mines  in  the  Comstock  lode, 
among  the  Washoe  Hills,  in  Nevada.  But  the  derivation  of  the 
word  is  totally  disconnected  with  mining  interests — it  is  a  nautical 
phrase  from  the  Spanish,  and  means  "fair  weather  at  sea,"  or  "  to 
sail  with  fair  wind  and  weather ;  "  metaphorically  speaking,  to  go 
on  prosperously — to  do  well.  Other  persons  have  been  called 
bonanza  kings,  but  the  title  is  most  justly  claimed  by  the  trio — 
Flood,  Fair  and  Mackay,  the  latter  coming  later  into  the  company, 
but  being  reckoned  now  the  richest  of  the  three. 

John  Mackay  was  born  in  Dublin  (of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry)  in 
November,  1835,  but  while  a  minor  came  to  the  United  States,  and 
was  for  some  time  employed  by  the  well-known  ship-builder, 
William  H.  Webb,  of  New  York.  When  the  gold-fever  broke 
out,  young  Mackay  succumbed  to  the  excitement,  and  in  the 
autumn  of  1852  we  find  him  on  the  way  to  fame  and  fortune  in 
the  Golden  State— sailing  round  the  Horn  in  one  of  Webb's  vessels. 
What  knowledge  of  mining  he  may  have  acquired  before  starting 
is  uncertain — possibly  none — but  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
enter  the  best  practical  school  in  the  world.  On  his  arrival  in 
California  he  went  immediately  to  Sierra  county,  which  was  then 
(72) 


JOHN    W.    MACKAY. 


JOHN     W.    MACKAY.  73 

promising-  well,  and  commenced  placer  mining  on  a  small  scale. 
He  worked  hard  and  was  able  to  accumulate  a  small  sum  above 
his  expenses,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  everything  was  ex- 
cessively dear  at  that  time.  His  immediate  object  was  to  get  to 
Nevada,  where,  in  company  with  a  friend,  one  Kinney  Said,  he  pro- 
posed to  tunnel  on  a  section  of  the  "  Union,"  which  lay  on  the 
north  of  the  famous  Ophir  mine.  This  first  venture  of  his  turned 
out  unfortunately  ;  he  spent  all  his  savings  and  made  nothing.  He 
was  consequently  obliged  to  take  employment  and  work  for  a 
while  in  the  neighboring  "  Mexican "  mine.  Here  at  least  he 
could  earn  something  more  than  a  living,  and  he  was  learning  all 
the  time  in  that  great  school  of  experience  which  enabled  him  in 
the  near  future  to  select  his  ground  with  more  probability  of  suc- 
cess. No  doubt  every  one  in  those  early  days  who  went  to  the 
mines  hoped  for  exceptional  good  fortune,  but  none  anticipated  the 
vast  amounts  which  have  since  been  realized  ;  two  or  three  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  would  have  been  thought  a  great  stroke  of 
luck,  and  Mr.  Mackay's  ambition,  as  he  has  often  said,  was  at  that 
time  limited  to  the  desire  of  a  decent  competency  for  himself  and 
aged  mother.  Mr.  Mackay's  fortune  fluctuated ;  now  he  seemed 
on  the  verge  of  a  great  success,  then  the  hope  disappeared,  only 
to  be  revived  again  a  few  days  or  a  few  weeks  afterwards :  yet  he 
worked  so  perseveringly  that  his  accumulations,  though  not  rapid, 
were  continuous.  But  he  was  not  content  with  the  slow  pace  at 
which  he  was  progressing.  His  first  really  fortunate  hit  was  made 
in  the  "  Kentuck  "  mine,  in  the  town  of  Gold  Hill,  in  Storey  county, 
Nevada.  The  surface  rock  here  was  highly  auriferous  in  free 
gold,  and  required  only  the  simplest  mechanical  means  to  extract 
it.  Yet  even  here  all  was  not  sunshine  ;  gloomy  days  intervened. 
Luck  appeared  at  one  time  to  have  deserted  the  place,  and,  after 
some  other  experiments,  Mr.  Mackay,  in  1863,  formed  a  business 
arrangement  with  J.  M.  Walker,  of  Virginia.  The  next  year  the 
partnership  was  enlarged  by  the  accession  of  Messrs.  Flood  and 
O'Brien,  and  these  worked  in  harmony  and  to  good  profit  for 


74  JOHN     \V.    MACKAY. 

some  four  years,  when  Mr.  Walker  withdrew,  his  place  being  filled 
by  Mr.  James  G.  Fair.  This  company  had  obtained  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  "  Hale  and  Norcross  "  silver  mine.  This  mine  lies 
on  the  path  of  the  Comstock  as  it  turns  towards  Gold  Hill ;  it  is 
one  of  those  which  has  helped  on  the  fame  of  Comstock.  It  has 
yielded  an  immense  amount  of  bullion  in  its  day,  but  its  surface 
stores  have  long  since  been  exhausted,  mainly  through  the  opera- 
tions in  which  Mr.  Mackay  was  concerned  between  1865  and 
1867,  and  it  was  with  the  money  derived  from  it  that  the  firm  was 
enabled,  after  many  shrewd  and  persistent  efforts,  to  acquire  a 
large  section  of  land  on  that  immense  deposit  of  ore — the  direct 
Comstock  lode.  Having  now  at  their  command  almost  unlimited 
capital  and  credit,  they  succeeded  in  opening  up  the  marvellous 
"  Consolidated  Virginia  and  California,"  since  known  as  the  "  Bo- 
nanza" mines. 

Perhaps  a  brief  description  of  this  district,  known  under  the 
general  name  of  "  the  Comstock  lode,"  may  not  be  without  inter- 
est, as  illustrating  the  source  of  Mr.  Mackay's  immense  fortune. 
The  whole  of  this  region  is  simply  an  accumulation  of  volcanic 
rocks  and  intervening  canons ;  these  hills  arise  from  the  Washoe 
plain  to  a  height  above  sea-level  of  nearly  eight  thousand  feet. 
The  Comstock  lode  runs  nearly  north  and  south,  following  the 
trend  of  the  Washoe  Mountains,  within  which  it  lies,  and  the 
"mining  district"  is  comprised  in  Storey  county,  Nevada.  This 
remarkable  deposit  was  discovered  by  two  German  brothers, 
named  Grosch,  in  1853.  Other  prospectors  had  been  there  before 
them,  but  these  foreigners  were  the  first  to  recognize  silver  in  the 
rough  ore.  Those  who  preceded  them  had  extracted  the  gold  and 
abandoned  all  the  rest  as  worthless.  One  of  these  brothers  died 
from  an  accident,  and  the  other  from  the  results  of  exposure  on  a 
journey  from  Nevada  to  California.  These  brothers,  Allan  and 
Hosea  Grosch,  had  left  their  papers,  plan  of  claims,  etc.,  with  a 
store-keeper  in  Carson  named  H.  T.  P.  Comstock.  As  there 
were  no  other  claimants,  and  no  opposition  was  raised,  he  quietly 


JOHN     \V.    MACKAY.  75 

took  possession  of  their  effects,  occupied  their  "  claim,"  and  gave 
his  name  to  the  richest  silver  mine  in  the  world.  He  had  learned 
from  these  Germans  the  value  of  the  rejected  "  black  stuff,"  and 
took  immediate  measures,  in  connection  with  one  Penrod,  to  work 
the  Grosch  lode  for  all  it  was  worth.  He  bought  some  other  inter- 
ests in  the  mines,  but  afterwards  sold  all  out  for  a  few  thousand 
dollars  !  Many  other  claims  were  made,  then  and  afterwards,  in 
the  vicinity ;  we  have  a  list  of  forty,  varying  in  size  from  ten  feet 
to  two  thousand  feet.  Some  idea  of  the  profits  of  Mr.  Mackay's 
investment  in  the  "  Consolidated  Virginia  and  California,"  the 
most  valuable  property  owned  on  the  Comstock  lode,  may  be  ar- 
rived at  by  the  following  facts :  The  amount  of  the  bullion  pro- 
duced from  the  lode,  approximately  estimated,  up  to  1877  was 
$350,000,000.  From  1873  to  1879  the  Consolidated  Virginia  pro- 
duced in  gold  the  value  of  $28,029,925;  in  silver,  $35,184,316; 
or  a  total  of  $63,214,241.  In  the  California  there  was  of  gold, 
$50,790,453;  of  silver,  $58,270,576;  total,  $109,061,029.  The 
Virginia  was  opened  three  years  before  the  California,  but 
later  they  were  worked  together.  The  Consolidated  Virginia 
began  paying  dividends  in  May,  1875,  an<^  UP  to  tne  close  of  1879 
it  had  paid  fifty-one,  aggregating  the  neat  little  sum  of  $42,390,- 
ooo.  The  California  paid  its  first  dividend  in  May,  1876,  and  in 
three  years  paid  thirty-four,  amounting  to  $31,320,000.  Total 
dividends  of  both  the  mines  in  the  above-named  period,  $73,710,- 
029. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  by  this  time  Mr.  Mackay  thought  he 
could  afford  to  support  a  wife,  as  well  as  to  relieve  all  the  wants 
of  his  venerated  mother.  On  the  25th  of  November,  1867,  he 
married  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Daniel  E.  Hungerford,  of  the 
United  States  Army,  and  widow  of  Dr.  Thompson,  a  former  part- 
ner of  Mr.  Mackay's ;  they  were  partners,  however,  in  ill  luck,  for 
after  having  made  a  moderate  sum  during  those  days  of  wander- 
ing and  prospecting,  they  struck  a  small  lead,  which  promised 
fairly,  and  Thompson  sent  to  the  East  for  his  wife  and  daughter; 


7  6  JOHN     W.    MACKAY. 

the  journey  was  a  tedious  one  then,  and  by  the  time  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son arrived  both  her  husband  and  Mackay  were  "  dead  broke." 
Together  these  two  friends  started  again  to  try  and  retrieve  their 
fortunes,  and  in  testing  a  side  hill  a  large  rock  was  suddenly  dis- 
placed, falling  on  Thompson,  and  he  shortly  after  died ;  he  had 
been  tenderly  cared  for  by  Mackay  in  these  last  hours,  and  was 
conscious  of  his  fate;  all  his  thoughts  naturally  turned  to  his  wife 
and  child,  whom  he  had  summoned  to  this  rough  and  unsettled 
country,  and  whom  he  was  now  about  to  leave  without  any  means 
for  support.  Mackay  in  his  rough,  generous  way  promised  his 
friend  that  they  should  not  want — that  he  would  take  care  of  them  ; 
and  the  injured  miner  died  comforted,  for  he  knew  he  could  put 
full  trust  in  the  promise  of  John  Mackay.  Two  years  later  his 
word  was  kept  more  fully  than  he  had  originally  meant:  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Thompson  and  adopted  as  his  own  the  little  daughter, 
and  certainly  no  lady  was  ever  better  adapted  to  help  a  man 
spend  an  enormous  fortune,  while  dispensing  the  most  generous 
hospitality  in  two  hemispheres ;  for  Mrs.  Mackay  has  resided  sev- 
eral years  in  Paris,  where  her  children  are  being  educated.  While 
Mr.  Mackay  has  a  permanent  home  in  Virginia  City,  he  runs  over 
two  or  three  times  a  year  to  see  his  family.  There  is  probably  no 
man  who  has  made  a  colossal  fortune  in  mining,  working  up  from 
the  pick  and  shovel  of  the  hired  laborer,  to  the  very  apex  of  suc- 
cess, that  has  been  so  little  spoiled  by  prosperity  as  John  W. 
Mackay.  He  is  still  the  modest,  honest-hearted  plain  man  that 
he  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  His  liberality  is  mostly  dis- 
pensed in  private,  among  individuals  whom  he  has  known  in  ear- 
lier times,  who  have  failed  to  secure  a  share  of  the  riches  which 
have  accumulated  in  the  few  hands  of  the  bonanza  kings.  That 
his  gigantic  fortune  did  not  come  to  him  by  any  sudden  stroke  of 
luck  is  best  known  to  those  most  familiar  with  the  history  of  the 
Comstock  lode.  The  ground  had  been  known  for  years  before 
his  combination  took  hold  of  it,  and  though  in  some  sections  pay- 
ing well,  had  been  abandoned  for  more  promising  fields  by  such 


JOHN     W.    MACKAY.  ^7 

shrewd  and  experienced  miners  as  Senator  Sharon  and  others. 
When  Mr.  Mackay  and  his  partners  had  secured  a  controlling  in- 
terest in  the  management,  there  were  many  obstacles  to  be  over- 
come and  many  sore  disappointments  to  be  borne ;  especially  did 
those  who  had  abandoned  the  lode  seek  to  discourage  them.  At 
one  time  the  shares  were  down  to  two  dollars,  and  some  persons 
who  had  been  obliged  to  accept  shares  in  payment  of  debts  looked 
upon  themselves  as  holding  worthless  paper.  To  add  to  the  dis- 
couragement, in  October  of  1875,  a  fire,  which  swept  away  nearly 
one-half  of  Virginia  City,  also  destroyed  the  extensive  buildings 
and  machinery  of  the  company,  stopping  all  work  for  a  considera- 
ble time.  Twelve  hundred  feet  of  ground  was  gone  over  in  pros- 
pecting, at  a  cost  of  half  a  million  dollars,  before  they  struck  the 
right  vein ;  what  fluctuations  of  hope  and  doubt  were  dug  into 
that  drift,  the  owners  alone  know ;  and  John  Mackay  personally 
led  that  apparently  forlorn  hope ;  and  it  was  by  hard  work  that 
his  labor  was  at  last  crowned  with  such  amazing  success.  Let  not 
those  envy  him,  who  turned  their  backs  upon  Virginia  City  and 
said,  "  It  will  not  pay." 

Personally  Mr.  Mackay  is  a  man  of  herculean  form  and  strength; 
he  is  in  robust  health,  and  it  is  believed  enjoys  himself  in  the  free- 
dom from  etiquette,  in  which  he  indulges  at  his  home  in  Nevada, 
rather  better  than  surrounded  by  lackeys  and  the  necessary  re- 
straints of  the  palatial  residence  he  occupies  with  his  family  when 
in  Paris.  Much  has  been  said  and  written  about  the  ostentatious 
display  made  at  the  Mackay  mansion  ;  but  no  one  need  attribute 
that  to  "John:"  he  has  no  desire  for  display,  his  coach  and  liveried 
servants  are  inconspicuous  in  style  and  color,  and  if  he  spends  his 
money  freely,  why  should  he  not?  Some  two  years  ago,  when 
about  to  leave  San  Francisco  for  the  East,  Mr.  Mackay  was  ten- 
dered a  public  reception  by  a  large  number  of  gentlemen,  repre- 
senting not  only  finance  and  commerce,  but  all  the  liberal  profes- 
sions. He  is  a  man  thoroughly  liked  by  those  who  know  him  best. 

Quite  recently  Mr.  Mackay  made  a  somewhat  extended  tour  on 


78  JOHN     W.    MACKAY. 

the  continent  in  the  company  of  William  J.  Florence,  the  genial 
actor;  among  other  places  of  interest  they  visited  the  Vatican, 
and  were  received  with  marked  attention  by  His  Holiness  Leo 
XIII.,  who  complimented  Mr.  Mackay  upon  the  charitable  deeds 
of  his  wife  and  his  own  ;  referring  particularly  to  the  asylum  for 
poor  children,  which  is  sustained  by  the  latter  in  Virginia  City. 
Through  the  courtesy  of  the  pope,  who  sent  an  escort  with  them, 
they  were  afterwards  presented  to  King  Humbert  and  the  Queen 
Margharita.  More  recently  still,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mackay  were  very 
graciously  received  by  the  Czar  and  Czarina  of  Russia  during  the 
ceremonies  of  the  coronation  week.  At  one  court  reception,  by 
some  oversight  in  the  invitations,  only  eleven  ladies  were  present, 
but  eight  of  these  were  Americans,  and  among  them  Mrs.  Mackay, 
who  was  most  kindly  distinguished  by  the  Empress. 

"  Seeth  thou  a  man  diligent  in  business,  he  shall  stand  before 
kings,"  said  a  wise  man  some  centuries  ago.  But  no  European 
splendor  can  blind  or  dazzle  the  thoroughly  democratic  eyes  of 
the  whilom  red-shirted  miner  of  Nevada;  Mr.  Mackay  is  entirely 
American  in  sentiment,  and  personally  indulges  in  no  foreign 
mannerisms.  Mrs.  Mackay,  as  is  well  known,  gives  the  most  ex- 
pensive entertainments  in  Paris ;  among  other  American  guests, 
having  feted  General  Grant  and  suite  at  her  house,  when  the  ex- 
President  was  on  his  tour  around  the  world.  On  this  occasion, 
wishing  to  have  the  Place  de  L Etoile  illuminated  in  his  honor,  and 
the  municipality  of  Paris  declining  to  accede  to  her  wish,  she 
offered  to  buy  out  the  whole  neighborhood,  including  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe,  if  they  would  consent  to  sell  it!  Of  course  they  would 
not.  To  accommodate  Mrs.  Mackay,  the  "Silver  King"  has  ar- 
ranged to  have  a  private  railway  carriage  always  ready  for  her 
use;  it  cost  about  150,000  francs,  and  is  a  perfect  "magic  palace 
on  wheels;"  the  cost  of  maintaining  it  in  running  order  is  10,000 
francs  per  annum.  Fortunately,  Mr.  Mackay's  heart  corresponds 
with  the  size  of  his  fortune,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  have  also  a 
native  feeling  of  independence,  and  agree  that  they  do  not  want 


JOHN     W.    MACKAY.  79 

any  titled  son-in-law;  the  object  of  such  unwise  desire  on  the  part 
'  of  many  American  millionaires.  Mr.  Mackay's  family  have  no 
need  to  deny  themselves  any  fancied  luxury,  for  it  is  simply  im- 
possible for  them  to  spend  their  income.  Mrs.  Mackay's  dia- 
monds, sapphires,  pearls  and  other  gems,  aggregate  in  value  more 
than  those  possessed  by  any  sovereign  in  Europe ;  but  with  all 
her  love  of  brilliant  gems  she  has  not  lost  her  feeling  for  the  trou- 
bles of  others.  Having  bought  many  of  the  jewels  formerly  be- 
longing to  Madam  Maria  Blanc,  the  owner  of  Monaco's  famous 
gaming  house,  many  of  which  had  been  lost  in  heavy  play,  one  of 
these  was  recognized  by  a  guest  of  Mrs.  Mackay's  as  having 
once  belonged  to  herself,  and  touching  a  secret  spring  the  lady 
disclosed  to  the  surprise  of  her  hostess  the  likeness  of  a  beautiful 
child — her  own.  Mrs.  Mackay  immediately  insisted  upon  her 
taking  the  brooch,  expressing  herself  pained  that  she  should  ever 
have  been  deprived  of  it  in  such  an  ignoble  way — the  lady's  hus- 
^  band  having  lost  it  in  gaming.  Mrs.  Mackay  is  a  liberal  patron- 
ess of  art  and  artists.  Meissonier  has  recently  completed  a  full- 
length  likeness  of  her  which  he  is  said  to  have  declared  to  be  his 
chef  d'ouvre  in  portraiture.  Mrs.  Mackay's  opinion  of  this  portrait 
differed  materially  from  that  of  the  artist,  and  it  is  said  that  she 
destroyed  the  canvas.  The  unfortunate  affair  caused  much  discus- 
sion in  Paris  and  elsewhere,  friends  of  the  artist  and  the  lady  enter- 
ing warmly  into  the  controversy.  The  model  is  represented  three- 
quarters  length,  in  a  costume  of  black  satin,  the  body  of  which  is 
covered  with  heavy  and  close  gimp  and  bead  embroidery ;  a  large 
black  Gainsborough  hat  tilted  over  the  right  shoulder,  and  fes- 
tooned with  lace  in  the  Spanish  style ;  a  brown  plush  mantle,  bor- 
dered with  fur,  is  thrown  loosely  over  the  right  shoulder,  leaving 
the  left  shoulder  and  arm  visible,  and  the  model  looks  straight  out 
of  the  frame  as  she  draws  on  her  left  hand  a  long,  yellow  mousque- 
taire  glove.  For  this  likeness  she  paid  70,000  francs.  Another 
French  artist,  M.  Cabanel,  has  painted  a  lovely  portrait  of  Mrs. 
Mackay's  daughter,  a  serious,  brown-haired  and  brown-eyed  little 


go  JOHN     W.    MACKAY. 

maiden,  in  a  white  dress,  on  a  delicate  blue  background.  This 
artist  has  also  painted  Mr.  Mackay,  whose  portrait  is  that  of  a 
sandy-haired  and  indifferently  dressed  gentleman  with  a  deter- 
mined air.  All  these  portraits,  together  with  that  of  another  mem- 
ber of  Mr.  Mackay's  family,  were  on  exhibition  at  the  Exposition 
Nationale  this  year. 

Meissonier  lately  gave  a  soiree  in  his  studio  for  the  benefit  of 
an  American  photographer,  in  whom  the  Mackays  take  an  inter- 
est. This  is  M.  Muybridge,  who  has  taken  many  scenes  in  Cali- 
fornia, in  the  wildest  parts  of  that  strange  land,  and  in  the  early 
times — scenes  which  can  never  again  be  reproduced. 

Mrs.  Mackay  has  a  summer  cottage  at  Trouville  in  France,  on 
the  coast.  It  would  almost  exceed  belief  to  describe  the  cost  of 
the  table-service — one  full  tea-set  of  solid  gold,  the  finest  porcelain, 
amber,  coral,  and  precious  stones  used  in  decorations ;  crystal 
plates  set  with  gems,  and  wine  served  in.  silver,  gold,  and  enameled 
flagons,  elaborately  wrought — each  article  a  precious  specimen  of 
the  engraver's  or  decorator's  art.  Mr.  Mackay  is  also  in  his  way 
a  patron  of  art;  among  the  pictures  lately  sold  to  him  by  the  Mar- 
quis of  Lansdowne  is  the  famous  "Rembrandt  portrait,"  purchased 
by  an  ancestor  of  the  marquis,  and  which  has  always  been  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  choicest  gems  in  the  Bowood  gallery. 
$25,000  was  the  price  paid  for  it.  He  also  owns  some  fine  trotters, 
but  he  is  not  distinguished  as  a  sportsman. 

Nearly  every  spring,  for  several  years  back,  the  report  is  circu- 
lated "  that  the  Mackays  are  coming  to  New  York  to  live  ;  "  thus 
far  it  has  proved  to  be  without  foundation.  Mrs.  Mackay  evidently 
finds  Paris  congenial  to  her  tastes,  and  "  John  "  comes  and  goes 
at  his  pleasure,  and  may  sometimes  be  seen  in  Virginia  City  taking 
his  ease  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  his  trousers  tucked  into  his  boots,  and 
a  broad-brimmed  felt  hat,  as  in  the  old  mining  days.  A  friend 
of  the  Mackays,  disgusted  with  the  constant  criticism  which  their 
lavish  expenditure  of  money  naturally  draws  upon  them,  in  the 
press  and  society,  says,  in  a  printed  communication,  and  speaking 


JOHN     W.     MACKAY.  8 1 

from  personal  knowledge  of  Mrs.  Mackay:  "Instead  of  words  of 
contempt  and  ridicule,  the  kindest  and  the  best  that  her  country- 
men could  say  of  her  would  scarcely  equal  her  desert.  She  needs 
no  champion,  her  deeds  speak  for  her ;  the  poor,  and  the  needy,  • 
and  the  suffering  bless  her,  and  if  it  were  necessary,  there  are 
thousands  who  would  bear  the  same  testimony  which  I  now  give." 
Mr.  Mackay,  it  is  reported,  has  recently  promised  President  Cham- 
berlain, of  Bowdoin  College  in  Maine,  to  endow  a  $50,000  profes- 
sorship in  that  institution.  He  is  recognized  by  all  who  know  him 
as  one  of  those  least  spoiled  by  the  possession  of  a  fortune  too 
large  to  spend.  He  has  not  forgotten  the  friends  of  his  working 
days,  and  were  any  of  these  in  need  they  would  not  fear  a  rebuff 
if  they  showed  their  empty  palms  to  the  great  bonanza  king.  Yet 
what  will  become  of  these  fabulous  fortunes?  Will  the  next  half 
century  see  them  dissipated  in  thin  air,  and  the  descendants  of  the 
millionaires  ready  to  begin  the  re-accumulation  again? 

In  August,  1883,  Mr.  Mackay  accepted  the  presidency  of  the 
Postal  Telegraph  Company,  a  new  association  formed  in  New  York, 
which  may  possibly  become  a  rival  of  the  "Western  Union."  The 
amount  of  stock  which  it  is  proposed  to  issue,  to  commence  with, 
is  $21,000,000.  Mr.  Mackay  took  up  $12,000,000  of  the  stock, 
thus  obtaining  the  supreme  control.  A  conference  has  already 
been  held  with  the  manager  of  the  American  Rapid  Company,  with 
a  view  to  forming  a  combination.  Since  it  is  not  likely  that  the 
bonanza  king  desires  to  add  to  his  wealth,  it  has  been  suggested 
that  this  new  position  has  been  accepted  by  him  with  a  view  to 
forming  pleasant  associations  in  the  social  circles  of  New  York ; 
his  time  having  hitherto  been  much  broken  up  by  his  constant 
journeys  across  the  continent  and  the  Atlantic,  with  no  permanent 
applications  in  the  metropolis  of  the  country,  such  as  this  presi- 
dency will  assure  him.  At  the  present  writing  the  Postal  Tele- 
graph Company  has  but  one  wire  in  operation — from  New  York 
to  Chicago,  but  its  ambition  embraces  the  continent.  Mr.  Mackay's 
name  is  a  tower  of  strength  financially,  and  this  enterprise  may 
yet  add  millions  to  the  $50,000,000  accredited  to  him. 
6 


GEORGE   WILLIAM   CHILDS. 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  CHILDS  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  1829.  When 
only  ten  years  old,  he  worked  as  an  errand-boy  for  a  bookseller 
during  the  vacations  of  his  school  in  the  summer  months.  At 
thirteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  United  States  Navy,  in  which 
service  he  remained  for  fifteen  months.  After  leaving  the  navy 
he  removed  from  Baltimore  to  Philadelphia,  with  no  capital  except 
his  integrity  and  talents,  and  began  his  typical  career  as  a  shop- 
boy  in  a  book-store.  After  four  years  of  this  apprenticeship  to 
books  and  letters,  he  opened  a  small  store  of  his  own  in  the  old 
Ledger  building,  at  Third  and  Chestnut  streets.  Even  at  this 
early  date,  when  a  mere  lad,  without  capital  or  any  visible  certainty 
for  the  future,  he  formed  within  himself  a  resolution  to  become 
one  day  the  proprietor  of  the  Public  Ledger.  He  made  no  secret 
of  his  ambition,  but  said  frequently  to  his  familiar  friends :  "  If  I 
live  I  will  become  the  owner  of  the  Public  Ledger"  One  distin- 
guished literary  man  to  whom  he  said  this  nine  years  before  it 
came  to  pass,  was  the  late  Dr.  R.  Shelton  Mackenzie.  A  career 
begun  with  such  resolution  reminds  one  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  or 
to  go  farther  back,  of  the  famous  Dick  Whittington,  "Lord  Mayor 
of  London,"  except  that  Whittington  once  turned  back  discour- 
aged, whereas  G.  W.  Childs  needed  no  voice  to  bid  "  turn  again," 
because  he  never  wavered,  never  halted,  and  never  doubted  of 
his  ultimate  success.  Before  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  publishing  firm 
which  afterward  did  so  large  a  business  under  the  firm-name  of 
Childs  &  Peterson.  The  head  of  the  old  firm  of  R.  E.  Peterson 
&  Co.  discerned  his  great  business  capacity  and  sought  his  alliance. 
Mr.  Childs  was  of  especial  value  for  his  insight  into  the  public 
(2:0 


GEORGE  W.  CHILDS. 


GEORGE     WILLIAM     GUILDS.  83 

taste,  and  his  judgment  as  to  the  works  which  it  would  surely  pay 
to  publish  was  never  at  fault.  Among  the  works  published  by  the 
firm  under  his  discretion  were  "  Peterson's  Familiar  Science,"  by 
his  partner,  which  reached  a  circulation  of  200,000  copies,  "  Kane's 
'Arctic  Explorations,"  for  which  the  firm  paid  the  author  $70,000, 
and  Allibone's  "  Dictionary  of  English  and  American  Authors,"  a 
work  of  immense  labor  and  research,  which  the  author  dedicated 
in  grateful  terms  to  Mr.  Childs.  While  publishing  books,  he  never 
forgot  his  ambitious  purpose. 

The  Public  Ledger  was  started  as  a  penny  paper  in  1836.  The 
first  number  appeared  on  the  25th  of  March,  Lady  day,  of  that 
year.  It  was  a  little  sheet  of  fifteen  by  thirteen  inches  in  size.  For 
a  quarter  of  a  century  its  price  remained  the  same  as  at  the  start. 
But  the  war  came,  and  the  price  of  everything  was  doubled,  and 
as  the  material  and  the  cost  of  living  rose,  so  in  the  same  ratio  did 
the  price  of  labor.  It  could  only  be  published  for  a  penny  at  a 
heavy  loss  to  the  publishers.  Moreover,  of  the  three  original  pro- 
prietors, one  was  dead,  the  second  was  interested  chiefly  in  another 
enterprise,  and  the  third  was  discouraged.  He  might  well  be  so 
when  the  loss  on  each  number  issued  was  $480,  and  each  week 
$3,000.  So  the  Public  Ledger  was  offered  for  sale.  It  required 
great  faith  and  enterprise  to  stake  one's  capital,  "  and  win  or  lose 
it  all,"  upon  a  newspaper  that  was  losing  $150,000  dollars  a  year. 
But  Mr.  Childs  was  a  man  of  destiny,  and  the  hour  of  prophetic 
fulfilment  had  come.  In  vain  did  all  his  business  friends  endeavor 
to  dissuade  him.  He  bought  the  paper  for  a  sum  a  little  in  excess 
of  the  annual  loss. 

The  purchase  was  completed  on  December  5th,  1864.  Within 
a  week  the  new  proprietor  announced  two  necessary  changes. 
The  price  of  the  paper  was  doubled  and  the  advertising  rate  in- 
creased to  meet  the  universal  rise  of  values.  At  the  end  of  a 
month,  however,  he  encouraged  additional  subscribers  and  satisfied 
old  ones,  by  making  the  cost  of  the  Ledger  ten  cents  per  week. 
This  was  sound  policy,  and  at  once  increased  the  circulation. 


84  GEORGE     WILLIAM     CHILDS. 

There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  newspapers,  as  of  men,  "  which 
taken  at  the  flood  leads  on  to  fortune."  Mr.  Childs  had  bought 
the  Ledger  in  "  the  nick  of  time,"  as  the  saying  is.  To  hesitate  is 
to  be  lost  in  completing  such  purchases,  but  still  more  frequently 
it  is  loss  to  make  them.  Not  one  man  in  a  thousand  would  ever 
run  a  newspaper  successfully.  One  man,  in  his  egotism,  fancies 
that  all  the  world  must  think  upon  all  subjects  as  he  does,  and 
cannot  conceive  the  possibility  of  his  own  judgment  being  fallible. 
Such  a  man  is  sure  to  fail.  Other  men  there  are  who  fancy  that 
their  own  individuality  and  not  the  public  interests  are  what  their 
newspaper  should  pay  most  attention  to.  They  too  are  sure  to 
come  to  grief.  Others,  again,  are  wholly  or  partially  wanting  in  the 
foresight,  judgment,  decisive  action  and  administrative  prudence 
necessary  to  the  safe  conduct  of  the  daily  paper.  Others  are  as 
men  "driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed,"  who  contradict  in  to-day's 
issue  the  opinion  they  put  forth  yesterday.  The  public  see  in  the 
self-stultifying  oracle  a  house  divided  against  itself  which  cannot 
stand.  The  stewards  fit  for  such  a  trust  are  "few  and  far  between." 
Not  one  in  a  thousand,  even  of  men  otherwise  shrewrd  and  intelli- 
gent, is  "  sufficient  for  these  things."  Mr.  Childs  is  one  of  the  rare 
exceptions  to  the  general  incapacity  for  conducting  a  good  and 
paying  newspaper.  Even  of  the  great  editors  in  this  country  not  one 
in  twenty  could  manage  the  business  affairs  of  the  paper  he  edits 
successfully.  Mr.  Childs  has  made  the  Ledger  a  welcome  guest 
in  every  home  in  Philadelphia  by  rigorously  excluding  from  its 
columns  everything  that  sullies  purity  of  mind  or  attacks  personal 
reputations. 

On  June  2Oth,  1867,  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger  took  pos- 
session of  its  new  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Sixth  and 
Chestnut  streets,  which  Mr.  Childs  had  especially  built  for  it,  at  a 
cost  of  half  a  million  of  dollars.  This  magnificent  edifice,  one  of 
the  finest  in  Philadelphia,  was  formally  opened  on  the  2Oth  of 
June,  1867,  amid  a  great  assemblage  of  representatives  of  all  profes- 
sions and  callings.  Three  objects  were  impressed  by  Mr.  Childs 


GEORGE     WILLIAM     CHILDS.  85 

upon  Mr.  J.  McArthur,  Jr.,  the  architect,  and  Mr.  R.  J.  Dobbins, 
the  builder.  First,  to  build  a  printing-office  that  would  be  as 
thoroughly  adapted  to  its  purpose  as  could  possibly  be  built,  irre- 
spective of  cost ;  second,  to  make  it  a  comfortable,  cheerful  and 
healthy  office  for  printers  to  work  in ;  and,  thirdly,  to  make  it  a 
monument  of  newspaper  enterprise  and  an  ornament  to  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  The  opening  .was  followed  by  a  banquet  at  the 
Continental  Hotel,  at  which  speeches  were  made  by  Mayor  Mc- 
Michael,.  the  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Chandler,  LL.D.,  the  oldest  editor 
present ;  Mayor  Hoffman,  of  New  York  ;  General  Meade,  General 
Robeson,  of  New  Jersey ;  Hon.  James  Brooks,  of  New  York ; 
J.-J.  Stewart,  of  Maryland;  Paul  B.  Du  Chaillu,  the  African 
explorer,  Hon.  William  D.  Kelley,  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall,  then  of 
Dublin,  now  of  Fifth  avenue,  New  York ;  General  Hiram  Wai- 
bridge,  of  New  York ;  George  H.  Stuart,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
William  V.  McKean,  of  the  Ledger.  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Maryland,  who 
proposed  the  health  of  Mr.  Childs,  recalled,  in  the  course  of  his 
remarks,  that  when  he  and  Mr.  Childs  were  boys,  the  latter  had 
written  to  him  that  he  meant  to  prove  that  a  man  could  be  both 
liberal  and  successful  at  the  same  time. 

The  Public  Ledger,  however,  has  not  absorbed  Mr.  Childs'  enter- 
prise to  the  exclusion  of  other  objects.  In  connection  with  his  al- 
most life-long  friend,  Anthony  J.  Drexel,  the  great  banker,  at  Wayne, 
on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  line,  they  have  founded  a  city  analo- 
gous to  that  of  the  late  A.  T.  Stewart  at  Garden  City.  Purchasing 
six  hundred  acres  of  land  at  Wayne  Station  for  $240,000,  they 
have  divided  the  land  into  building-lots,  of  about  an  acre  each,  for 
the  erection  of  cottages  on  improved  principles  of  art,  ranging  in 
price  from  $2,000  to  $8,000.  The  scheme  is  to  dispose  of  the 
houses  and  lots  upon  payment  of  one-third  of  the  cost,  Messrs. 
Childs  and  Drexel  advancing  two-thirds,  thus  affording  to  persons 
in  moderate  circumstances  an  opportunity  of  securing  suburban 
residences  upon  reasonable  terms.  From  a  score  of  novel  designs 
prepared  by  their  architects  the  purchaser  makes  his  selection. 


86  GEORGE     WILLIAM     CHILDS. 

Upon  the  landscape  gardening  the  firm  have  expended  $100,000, 
upon  the  water  supply  over  $50,000,  and  upon  the  general  im- 
provements of  the  new  town  $1,500,000  has  been  set  apart  by 
them.  The  distance  of  Wayne  from  Philadelphia  is  thirteen  miles, 
and  within  two  minutes'  walk  of  the  new  station  Mr.  Childs  has 
built  the  Bellevue  Hotel,  a  Queen  Anne  structure  with  porches  on 
every  side  which  rise  in  tiers  to  the  fourth  floor. 

Mr.  Childs  has  been  a  great  collector  of  rare  and  costly  books, 
clocks,  and  articles  of  virtu.  He  has  the  writing-desk  on  which 
Lord  Byron  wrote  "  Don  Juan  "  and  others  of  his  poems.  His 
private  office  in  the  Ledger  building  partakes  both  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan and  the  Queen  Anne  style  of  decoration,  having  a  large, 
open  fire-place,  which  with  the  mantel-piece  is  exceedingly  wel- 
come to  the  eye  from  the  sense  of  comfort  it  inspires  as  well  as 
the  exquisite  beauty  of  its  ornamentation.  Heavily  embossed 
paper,  in  imitation  of  Flemish  stamped  leather,  covers  the  walls 
above  the  wainscoting,  and  the  floor  is  of  many-colored  tiles. 
But  what  attracts  the  attention  of  the  visitor  chiefly  is  the  number 
and  magnificence  of  the  clocks  which  he  sees  on  every  side  of  the 
apartment.  Chimes  and  sonorous  reverberations  in  many  tones 
proclaim  the  flight  of  time  from  many  of  these  time-pieces.  On 
Mr.  Childs'  writing-desk  stand  three  small  clocks  of  curious  work- 
manship, while  above  them,  on  the  top,  is  a  clock  one  foot  high 
and  ten  inches  broad,  made  with  a  lapis  lazuli  case  worth  more 
than  its  weight  in  solid  gold.  This  is  the  most  costly  article  in  the 
room.  Over  the  fire-place  is  a  basso-relievo  wherein  a  winged 
cupid  is  depicted  bearing  an  hour-glass,  while  on  the  mantel  above 
is  a  marble  and  bronze  French  clock,  of  beautiful  design  and  ex- 
quisite finish,  the  works  of  which  are  so  fine  that  it  does  not  vary 
one  minute  in  a  year.  It  has  a  perpetual  calendar  attachment  and 
cost  more  than  $800.  On  either  side  of  the  mantel,  under  life- 
size  pictures  of  Messrs.  Childs  and  Drexel,  are  two  clocks  that 
mark  two  distinct  periods  of  French  history.  One  has  a  case  of 
tortoise-shell,  inlaid  with  bronze  scroll-work,  such  as  was  the 


• 


GEORGE     WILLIAM     GUILDS.  8/ 

fashion  in  the  time  of  Louis  Quatorze ;  the  other  is  in  the  Rococo 
style  of  the  time  of  Henri  Quatre.  The  bronze  case,  nearly  three 
feet  high,  is  profusely  decorated  in  the  style  of  the  renaissance  of 
Italian  architecture.  Above  a  large  ebony  cabinet,  filled  with 
curios,  stands  an  antique  English  clock,  with  a  square  ebony  case. 
It  is  very  plain  and  very  old,  the  seconds  being  measured  by  a  verge 
escapement,  which  was  supplanted  more  than  two  hundred  years 
ago  by  the  pendulum.  Another  clock  on  the  walls  of  Mr.  Childs' 
office  has  a  case  of  malachite  ornamented  with  bronze.  This  is 
Russian  work.  It.  stands  on  a  bracket  of  bronze  and  malachite 
made  in  America  to  Mr.  Childs'  order. 

Beside  all  these,  there  are  three  hall  clocks  in  the  room,  which 
Mr.  Childs  values  highly.  One,  "The  Convent  Clock,"  as  he  calls 
it,  came  from  an  Austrian  cloister,  and  is  over  200  years  old. 
Another,  the  "  Klingenburg  Clock,"  so  named  after  its  maker,  John 
Klingenburg,  of  Amsterdam,  was  a  present  to  Mr.  Childs  from 
General  Grant,  and  is  of  great  value.  But  more  precious  than 
both  of  these  is  the  "  Rittenhouse  Clock,"  the  workmanship  of 
which  excels  any  other  clock  in  America.  David  Rittenhouse,  a 
famous  Philadelphian,  after  whom  Rittenhouse  Square  was  named, 
made  this  clock  for  Joseph  Potts  in  1767,  and  was  paid  $640  for  it 
then,  which  would  equal  about  $2,000  to-day,  considering  the 
increase  of  values.  Lord  Howe,  during  the  British  occupation  of 
Philadelphia,  offered  125  guineas  for  it.  At  a  later  date,  a  Span- 
ish minister  wishing  to  make  a  valuable  present  to  his  sovereign, 
offered  $800  for  it.  It  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Childs  of  the  Barton 
family  in  October,  1879.  The  intricacy  of  its  mechanism  is  really 
marvellous  considering  its  age.  It  contains  seventy-two  wheels, 
with  5,685  teeth.  It  is  worked  by  three  weights,  aggregating  100 
pounds.  It  has  a  musical  attachment,  and  a  limited  planetarium 
in  miniature.  On  its  face  are  six  dials.  The  centre  dial  has  four 
hands,  indicating  seconds,  minutes,  hours  and  days,  the  last  being 
so  set  as  to  run  perpetually,  with  due  allowance  to  leap  year.  It 
also  shows  the  phases  of  the  moon.  The  second  dial  represents 


88  GEORGE     WILLIAM     GUILDS. 

accurately  the  movement  of  Venus,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Mercury,  and 
the  earth  around  the  sun,  each  of  the  planets  being  represented  by 
a  small  gold  ball.  The  rim  of  the  dial  is  marked  with  the  signs 
of  the  zodiac.  The  dial  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  describes 
the  moon's  phases  in  its  course  around  the  earth.  The  lower  left- 
hand  corner  dial  shows  Saturn  slowly  crawling  along  its  twenty- 
nine-year  course  around  the  sun.  Another  astronomical  feature 
of  this  clock  is  its  sun-dial,  which  shows  sun  time,  fast  or  slow,  in 
comparison  with  mean  meridian  time.  The  movement  of  this  dial 
is  extremely  intricate  and  rare ;  the  sixth  dial  reveals  a  combina- 
tion of  chimes,  which  play  at  every  quarter,  half,  and  full  hour ;  a 
hand  is  turned  to  one  of  ten  numbers,  and  when  the  quarter  point 
is  reached,  a  peal  of  choral  music  is  heard,  lasting  for  a  minute.  A 
gentle  push  on  a  little  knob  on  the  dial  procures  a  repetition,  and 
the  twenty  tiny  bells  gush  out  their  melodies. 

It  is  said  that  $30,000  would  not  cover  the  cost  of  Mr.  Childs' 
collection  of  clocks,  including  those  at  his  residence  on  Twenty- 
second  and  Walnut  streets,  and  his  country  residences  at  Wootten 
and  Long  Branch.  In  the  library  of  his  Philadelphia  mansion  is  a 
clock  that  belonged  to  Prince  Napoleon ;  while  in  the  parlor,  be- 
tween the  two  front  windows,  stands  the  most  costly  parlor  clock 
perhaps  to  be  found  in  the  world.  It  weighs  two  tons,  and  stands 
nine  feet  high,  onyx  and  verde  antique,  forming  a  base  two  feet 
square  and  four  feet  high.  On  this  pedestal  poses  a  life-size 
figure  in  silver  of  a  woman,  her  raised  arm  poising  a  circular  pen- 
dulum, which  works  the  machinery  in  the  base.  This  clock  has 
quite  a  history.  It  won  the  grand  prize  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of 
1867,  when  Le  Grand  Lockwood  bought  it,  after  a  sharp  bidding 
against  the  agent  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  removed  it  to 
his  palatial  home  in  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  where  it  remained  until 
his  estate  being  squandered,  it  fell  with  all  else  beneath  the  ham- 
mer of  the  auctioneer.  Mr.  Childs  started  the  bids  at  $1,000;  an 
agent  of  A.  T.  Stewart  bid  $2,000 ;  Mr.  Childs  bid  $3,000 ;  Stew- 
art's man  bid  $4,000,  and  the  clock  was  knocked  down  to  Mr. 
Childs  at  $6,000. 


GEORGE     WILLIAM     GUILDS.  89 

The  central  window  of  this  office  contains  a  copy  of  the  superb 
Milton  shield,  by  Elkington,  of  London,  supported  on  an  easel 
made  of  two  pikes,  and  a  partisan  from  originals  in  the  museum 
of  the  Louvre.  There  is  also  a  fine  statuette  of  Savonarola,  and 
in  the  southern  window  a  statuette  of  Piccarda  De  Donati.  In  the 
southwest  part  of  the  room,  erected  upon  a  pedestal,  is  a  complete 
suit  of  French  armor.  Beautiful  furniture,  carpet,  gas-fixtures,  etc., 
and  an  array  of  costly  presents  from  friends  and  corporations, 
make  Mr.  Childs'  office  at  the  Ledger  a  veritable  and  picturesque 
sanctum. 

Even  more  than  his  private  office  at  the  Ledger  does  his  library 
at  his  private  residence  in  Philadelphia  require  a  notice.  In 
addition  to  20,000  autographs  and  letters,  the  library  comprises 
5,000  of  the  most  valuable  books,  and  the  original  manuscripts 
of  a  sermon  by  Cotton  Mather,  Dickens'  "Our  Mutual  Friend," 
part  of  one  of  Frederick  Schiller's  dramas,  original  letters  of 
Samuel  Pepys,  Dr.  Johnson,  David  Hume,  Edmund  Burke, 
Cowper,  Boswell,  Lord  Eldon,  George  Canning,  Sir  James 
Mackintosh,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  William  Wordsworth,  Robert 
Burns,  S.  T.  Coleridge,  Southey,  Lord  Brougham,  Macaulay, 
Hazlitt,  Samuel  Rogers,  Rosene,  Byron,  Keats,  Shelley,  Leigh 
Hunt,  Charles  Lamb,  Tennyson,  Thackeray,  Maria  Edge  worth, 
Mary  Russell  Mitford,  Letitia  Landon,  Eliza  Cook,  Lord  Hough- 
ton,  G.  P.  R.  James,  and  many  others.  Mr.  Childs  is  not  merely 
a  student  and  lover  of  books,  but  a  lover  of  authors  also.  When 
Mr.  S.  C.  Hall  desired,  several  years  ago,  to  place  a  monument 
over  the  remains  of  Leigh  Hunt,  in  Kensal  Green  cemetery, 
Mr.  Childs  offered  to  bear  the  whole  expense.  Only  a  liberal 
contribution,  however,  was  accepted  from  him.  But,  at  his  sole 
cost,  with  the  consent  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Westminster, 
Mr.  Childs  placed  a  beautiful  stained  glass  window  in  the  vener- 
able Abbey,  in  commemoration  of  the  two  Christian  poets,  George 
Herbert  and  William  Cowper.  The  late  Dean  Stanley,  preaching 
in  Philadelphia,  on  his  last  visit  shortly  before  his  death,  said: 


90  GEORGE    WILLIAM     CHILDS. 

"There  is  in  Westminster  Abbey  a  window  dear  to  American 
hearts,  because  erected  by  an  honored  citizen  of  Philadelphia." 
Mr.  Childs  was  also  the  largest  subscriber  to  the  fund  for 'placing 
a  memorial  window  to  Tom  Moore  in  the  parish  church  at  Burn- 
ham,  England. 

The  princely  hospitality  of  Mr.  Childs,  as  well  as  his  noble 
benevolence,  are  known  to  all  Americans,  and  to  the  many  eminent 
travellers  from  foreign  lands  who  have  been  his  guests.  Dinners 
to  newsboys,  banquets  to  the  many  hundreds  of  men  and  women 
in  his  employ,  policies  of  life  insurance  given  by  him  to  their  wives 
and  children,  as  a  security  against  the  unknown  hour  of  death,  and 
even  a  cemetery-lot  presented  by  him  to  the  Philadelphia  Typo- 
graphical Society,  tell  the  deeds  and  feelings  of  this  public-spirited 
capitalist.  Well  might  his  employes  thank  him  for  his  innumerable 
acts  of  generosity  and  courtesy,  for  his  uniform  justice,  a  justice 
always  tempered  with  mercy,  as  well  as  for  the  palace  he  built  for 
them  to  work  in.  At  the  dedication  of  the  printers'  burial-lot,  the 
late  chief-justice  of  Pennsylvania,  who  had  himself  begun  life  as  a 
printer,  said  with  as  much  truth  as  eloquence  :  "  Some  men  pursue 
military  glory,  and  expend  their  time  and  energies  in  the  subju- 
gation of  nations.  Csesar  and  Napoleon  I.  may  be  named  as 
types  of  this  character.  But  the  blood  and  tears  which  follow 
violence  and  wrong,  maculate  the  pages  of  history  on  which  their 
glory  is  recorded.  Others  erect  splendid  palaces  for  kingly  resi- 
dences, and  costly  temples  and  edifices  for  the  promotion  of 
education  and  religion,  in  accordance  with  their  particular  views. 
But  views  of  education  and  religion  change,  buildings  waste  away, 
and  whole  cities  like  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii  are  buried  in 
the  earth.  Others,  again,  win  public  regard  by  the  construction 
of  means  of  communication  for  the  furtherance  of  commerce.  The 
canals,  railroads,  and  telegraphs  are  glorious  specimens  of  their 
useful  exertions  for  the  public  good.  But  the  marts  of  commerce 
change.  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  Venice  are  no  longer  commercial 
centres.  The  shores  of  the  Pacific  are  even  now  starting  in  a 


GEORGE     WILLIAM     GUILDS.  9! 

race  against  the  great  commercial  emporium  of  our  continent. 
But  Mr.  Childs  has  planted  himself  in  the  human  heart,  and  he 
will  have  his  habitation  there  while  man  shall  live  upon  earth. 
He  has  laid  the  foundation  of  his  monument  upon  universal 
benevolence.  Its  superstructure  is  composed  of  good  and  noble 
deeds.  Its  spire  is  the  love  of  God,  which  ascends  to  heaven. 
Such  a  monument  is  indeed 

'"A  pyramid  so  wide  and  high 
That  Cheops  stands  in  envy  by.' 

"  I  have  not  enumerated  the  numerous  private  charities  of  Mr. 
Childs.  The  magnificent  building  which  he  erected  for  the  Ledger 
at  a  cost  of  half  a  million  of  dollars,  as  a  newspaper  establish- 
ment, is  unparalleled  in  the  world ;  and  he  could  not  erect  this 
building  without  providing  that  the  press-room,  composing-room 
and  reporters'  room,  and  every  other  room  where  his  employes 
were  engaged,  should  be  carefully  warmed,  ventilated  and  lighted, 
so  that  they  should  be  comfortable  in  their  employment,  and 
enjoy  good  health  in  their  industry.  Even  the  outside  corners  of 
his  splendid  building  could  not  be  constructed  without  bringing  to 
the  large  heart  of  Mr.  Childs  the  wants  of  the  weary  wayfarer  on 
a  hot  summer  day.  Therefore  it  was  that  each  corner  is  provided 
with  a  marble  fountain,  to  furnish  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  every 
one  who  is  thirsty.  Mr.  Childs  provides  for  the  health  of  the 
employes  during  life.  He  has  introduced  bath-rooms  into  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  building  for  the  use  of  the  workingmen,  who  avail 
themselves  freely  of  the  privilege  afforded  them.  He  secures  an 
insurance  on  their  lives  for  the  benefit  of  their  families  after  death, 
and  even  then  he  does  not  desert  them ;  he  provides  a  beautiful 
and  magnificent  burial-lot  for  the  repose  of  their  lifeless  bodies. 
Such  a  man  surely  deserves  the  love  and  gratitude  of  his  fellow- 
creatures  on  earth,  and  the  blessings  of  his  Creator  in  the  world 
to  come." 

But  if  no  private  charities  or  public  acts  of  philanthropy  had 


92  GEORGE     WILLIAM     CHILDS. 

made  the  name  of  George  William  Childs  familiar  to  every  Chris- 
tian household  in  the  world,  the  unique  fact  that  he  has,  contrary 
to  all  the  calculations  of  worldly  financiers  and  the  predictions  of 
worldly  reasoners,  shown  the  possibility  of  making  a  daily  news- 
paper both  pure  in  its  morality  and  immense  in  its  circulation, 
would  place  him  among  the  greatest  of  the  successful  men  of  the 
age.  There  is  not  a  line  in  the  Ledger  which  could  bring  a  blush 
to  the  cheek  of  female  purity  or  set  the  mind  of  a  child  upon  the 
track  of  pernicious  inquiry.  Every  morning  as  the  sun  rises  upon 
.the  good  old  city  of  Philadelphia,  it  is  a  cheering  reflection  to 
those  who  love  things  "  pure  and  honest,  and  of  good  report,"  to 
know  that  in  almost  every  home,  and  in  almost  every  hand,  and 
read  by  almost  every  eye  in  that  vast  community  is  a  newspaper 
which  carries  not  pollution  but  purity  and  healing  with  it,  as  it 
disseminates  the  news  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 


PETER  COOPER. 


PETER   COOPER. 

THE  name  of  Peter  Cooper  has  been  spread  abroad  as  widely  as 
the  knowledge  of  philanthropic  deeds  can  be  conveyed,  through 
the  aid  of  steam  and  electricity  ;  two  elements  with  which  he  was 
personally  identified.  Commencing  life  with  as  little  prospect 
of  "  achieving  greatness  "  as  any  youth  in  the  small  city  of  New 
York  in  the  year  1791,  he  gradually  worked  his  way  up  to  the 
very  best  kind  of  eminence — the  eminence  of  a  model  life  from 
childhood  to  old  age,  without  a  serious  flaw  of  any  kind ;  wealth 
attained  by  solid  work,  industry  and  integrity,  and  expended  in 
the  effort  to  benefit  and  elevate,  intellectually  and  morally,  his 
fellow-men.  Such  lives  are  rare  everywhere,  and  particularly 
praiseworthy  when  all  this  has  been  accomplished  in  spite  of  un- 
toward circumstances ;  not  only  without  the  natural  aid  of  parent 
or  special  friends,  but  with  the  drag  anchor  of  an  impecunious 
father,  whose  needs  were  for  many  years  always  ready  to  absorb 
all  the  money  that  the  lad  Peter  could  earn  by  the  most  laborious 
kind  of  work.  Without  education,  too:  all  the  schooling  little 
Peter  received  was  between  his  seventh  and  eighth  year,  when  he 
went  on  alternate  days  to  school,  a  brother  going  to  fill  his  place 
on  the  other  school-days.  This  was  equivalent  to  about  two 
quarters  schooling,  and  that  before  he  was  eight  years  old ! 

The  father  of  Peter  Cooper  was  not  without  a  certain  kind  of 
capacity;  he  could  do  many  things,  but  he  was  "unstable  as  water," 
and  therefore  could  never  succeed  thoroughly  well  in  anything  he 
undertook,  and  his  restless  nature  would  not  permit  him  to  rest 
even  when  the  prospect  brightened ;  then  his  hopes  grew  larger 
than  the  possibilities  of  the  case,  and  he  must  leave  a  certainty  to 
strike  out  for  something  new.  The  elder  Cooper  was  twice 

(93) 


Q4  PETER     COOPER. 

married,  but  the  second  wife,  the  mother  of  Peter,  had  a  hard  time 
following  the  wanderings  of  her  husband ;  she  belonged  to  a  very 
respectable  family  named  Campbell ;  her  father,  John  Campbell, 
was  in  the  revolutionary  army  as  deputy  quartermaster-general, 
and  had  greatly  reduced  his  fortune  in  the  service  of  his  country ; 
he  was  subsequently  an  alderman  in  the  city  of  New  York  ;  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Cooper,  had  been  educated  among  the  Moravians 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  fully  capable  of  assisting  in  the  educa- 
tion of  Peter,  had  not  eight  other  children,  constant  household 
cares  and  continued  changes  of  residence,  absorbed  all  her  time 
and  strength ;  yet  doubtless  she  took  some  occasions  to  supple- 
ment the  very  limited  opportunities  of  her  son,  who  bore  the 
distinction  in  the  family  of  being  named  in  honor  of  the  Apostle 
Peter ;  the  father  having  had  in  a  dream  or  vision,  as  he  thought, 
some  supernatural  indication  that  the  child  should  be  so  named  ; 
the  natural  conclusion  being  that  he  would  "come  to  something." 
Perhaps  the  mother  "hid  these  things  in  her  heart,"  as  another 
mother  once  did  centuries  before,  and  watched  over  the  little  Peter 
with  what  special  love  and  care  the  circumstances  afforded — let  us 
hope  so  at  least,  for  the  father  seems  to  have,  forgotten  his  vision. 
The  elder  Cooper  had  been  in  the  army  and  had  attained  the  rank 
pf  lieutenant,  but  at  the  time  his  son  Peter  was  born  he  was  resid- 
ing in  Little  Dock  street — since  incorporated  with  and  called  Water 
street.  Here  he  kept  a  small  hat-store,  making  the  hats  himself. 

When  Peter  was  three  years  old  the  family  removed  "  away  up- 
town," to  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Duane  street — then  called 
Varley  street.  Here  little  Peter  commenced  to  work,  when  only 
eight  years  old,  being  regularly  employed  in  the  workroom  cutting 
the  fur  off  of  some  skins,  and  pulling  the  hair  off  of  rabbit  skins, 
to  help  form  the  pulp  of  which  the  hats  were  made  ;  the  other 
children  of  the  family  who  were  old  enough  (Peter  was  the  fifth) 
being  also  employed  in  the  business.  Here  the  hat-making  pros- 
pered fairly  well,  but  Mr.  Cooper  was  not  content :  he  wanted  to 
get  into  the  country.  Peekskill,  on  the  Hudson,  was  then  much 


PETER     COOPER. 


95 


in  vogue  ;  it  was  thought  to  be  a  very  growing  place,  so  one  fine 
'  morning  Mr.  Cooper  sold  out  the  business  on  Broadway  to  his 
eldest  son — Peter's  half-brother,  and  removed  to  Peekskill,  buying 
out  a  place  there,  but  not  having  sufficient  cash,  gave  his  note  for 
;£ioo,  a  very  large  indebtedness  for  a  man  in  his  circumstances. 
Here  he  started  a  hat  factory  and  also  opened  a  country  store, 
both  of  which  were  tolerably  successful  for  a  time. 

When  Peter  was  seventeen  he  decided  to  take  his  future 
into  his  own  hands,  and  came  alone  to  New  York  to  seek  for  an 
opportunity.  His  main  thought  then  was  to  start  a  brewery  in 
which  he  would  make  stronger  and  better  ale  than  any  other 
manufacturer,  believing  Americans  would  rather  pay  more  for  a 
superior  article.  But  he  could  find  no  one  to  advance  the  neces- 
sary capital,  and  not  having  either  the  means  or  the  desire  to  re- 
main in  the  city  unemployed,  he  within  a  few  days  apprenticed 
himself  to  a  coachmaker  to  learn  the  business.  He  agreed  to 
remain  with  Messrs.  Burtis  &  Woodward,  whose  shop  was  located 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  Chamber  street,  the 
site  of  A.  T.  Stewart's  down-town  store,  for  four  years,  receiving 
as  compensation  only  his  board  and  $25  a  year  with  which  to  buy 
clothes.  And  he  thought  he  had  made  a  good  bargain.  In  one 
sense  he  was  much  better  off  than  if  he  had  remained  with  his 
father  in  Newburg  J  at  home  his  work  was  never  done ;  here,  at 
least  after  his  regular  hours  of  labor,  he  was  free  to  use  his  time 
as  he  chose. 

How  he  stood  in  the  estimation  of  his  employers  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact,  that  at  the  close  of  his  apprenticeship  they  not  only 
expressed  their  satisfaction  with  the  amount  and  quality  of  the 
work  he  had  done  for  them,  but  offered  to  build  him  a  shop  and 
start  him  in  the  same  business,  giving  him  his  own  time  in  which 
to  repay  the  outlay.  Few  young  men  would  have  been  able  to 
resist  such  a  flattering  offer;  but  Peter  Cooper  had  seen  too  much 
of  the  miserable  slavery  of  the  debtor  to  care  to  burden  his  young 
life  with  so  great  an  obligation.  Thanking  them  for  their  kindness, 


PETER     COOPER. 


96 

he  bade  them  farewell,  and,  with  his  wardrobe  in  a  bundle  and  a 
small  sum  in  his  pocket,  he  started  off  to  Hempstead,  Long  Island, 
where  he  had  an  older  brother ;  not  very  clear  in  his  mind  what  he 
should  do,  but  not  particularly  caring  to  continue  coach-making. 
He  was  not  limited  to  that.  He  could  make  hats,  beer  and  bricks 
as  well  as  coaches,  and  the  world  was  all  before  him.  It  is  certain 
he  would  not  remain  idle  long.  In  Hempstead  he  found  a  man  who 
was  engaged  in  making  machines  for  shearing  cloth,  then  a  con- 
siderable industry  in  the  State  of  New  York,  much  wool  being 
raised  and  home-spun  cloth  being  made  here.  With  this  party  he 
engaged  to  go  to  work  at  $1.50  a  day,  which  was  then  considered 
high  wages.  Here  he  continued  for  three  years,  during  which 
time  he  married,  his  wife  being  Miss  Sarah  Bedel,  of  Hempstead. 
This  was  in  1813,  and  Peter  Cooper  was  just  twenty-two  years  of 
age.  This  was  a  step  that  he  never  had  cause  to  regret ;  indeed, 
he  was  very  free  to  admit  that  to  her  good  counsels,  sympathy 
and  encouragement  he  attributed  much  of  his  great  success  in 
after  life ;  "  she  was,"  he  was  accustomed  to  say,  "  the  day-star, 
the  solace  and  inspiration  of  my  life."  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooper 
lived  together  thus  happily  fifty-six  years,  she  dying  on  the  anni- 
versary of  her  wedding-day,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  her 
age,  in  December,  1869.  Having  been  long  attendants  on  the 
ministry  of  the  late  Dr.  Bellows,  the  veteran  pastor  of  the  Uni- 
tarian church  in  Fourth  avenue,  the  latter  said  on  the  occasion 
of  her  funeral  sermon :  "  It  was  impossible  to  be  false,  artificial, 
pretentious  in  her  sincere  and  simple  presence ;  and  how  full 
and  steady  and  strong  the  love  she  gave  and  drew  towards  her! 
To-day,  the  fifty-sixth  anniversary  of  her  wedding,  her  honored 
husband  could  testify  that  'age  had  done  nothing  to  the  last  to 
weaken  the  fervor ;  nay,  hardly  to  diminish  the  romance  of  the 
union,  which  has  been  blessed  with  unbroken  peace,  with  unin- 
terrupted confidence,  with  steady  delight  in  each  other's  com- 
panionship." It  is  certainly  pleasant  to  know  that  in  the  happy 
conditions  of  his  married  life  Mr.  Cooper  received  some  compen- 


PETER    COOPER. 


97 


sation   for  the  defrauded  childhood,  the  poor  and  meagre  boy- 
hood, the  laborious  cares  of  his  early  youth. 

Peter  Cooper  had  already  made  many  changes  of  occupation, 
as  his  father  had  .done,  but  there  was  an  essential  difference 
between  them ;  the  elder  Cooper  left  a  fairly  good  business  for 
another  without  sufficient  reason,  and  continued  in  a  failing  busi- 
ness long  after  he  should  have  quit.  Peter  continued  in  whatever 
he  was  engaged  in  as  long  as  it  paid ;  when  it  showed  symptoms 
of  becoming  unremunerative,  he  promptly  turned  his  attention  to 
something  else.  Not  foreseeing  the  failure  of  the  machine  busi- 
ness when  he  settled  in  Hempstead,  he  had  bought  a  house  and 
lot,  expecting  to  .make  that  his  permanent  home  ;  when  the  demand 
ceased  he  opened  a  store  for  the  sale  of  cabinet  furniture ;  made 
and  sold  that  for  a  year;  then  concluded  to  return  to  New  York; 
sold  out  his  house,  shop  and  land  and  opened  a  grocery-store  on 
the  corner  of  Rivington  street  and  the  Bowery.  The  next  year 
he  bought  out  an  unexpired  lease,  for  nineteen  years,  on  several 
lots  of  land,  on  part  of  which  the  Bible  House  now  stands,  on  the 
old  Boston  road,  or  Third  avenue ;  there  were  some  frame-houses 
upon  it,  and  he  removed  his  grocery-store  into  one  of  these  and 
let  the  others  at  good  rents.  At  this  time  there  was  a  glue  manu- 
factory for  sale  on  the  old  Middle  road,  or  Fourth  avenue;  it  had 
never  been  very  profitable  to  the  proprietor,  but  Peter  Cooper 
thought  he  could  manage  it  better.  He  bought  it  out  for  $2,000 
cash  down,  with  a  lease  of  twenty-one  years,  with  all  the  stock  and 
fixtures.  The  most  of  the  glue  then  used  in  this  country  (1821) 
was  imported  from  Ireland ;  but  no  sooner  had  Mr.  Cooper  taken 
hold  of  the  concern  than  he  immensely  improved  the  quality  and 
reduced  the  price  two-thirds  below  that  of  the  imported  article,  so 
that  he  soon  commanded  the  entire  domestic  trade.  By  degrees 
he  added  the  manufacture  of  other  articles,  as  whiting,  prepared 
chalk,  isinglass,  oil,  etc.,  very  successfully  competing  with  either 
foreign  or  native  producers.  In  the  one  article  of  isinglass  he 
realized  immense  profits.  Previous  to  his  time  that  article  had  been 
7 


gg  PETER     COOPER. 

almost  exclusively  imported  from  Russia,  and  was  sold  at  four  dol- 
lars a  pound;  Mr.  Cooper  was  able  to  sell  the  best  quality  at 
seventy-five  cents  a  pound,  and,  it  is  needless  to  say,  drove  the 
former  out  of  the  market.  He  obtained  much-  of  his  material  for 
making  glue  from  Henry  Astor's  butcher  shop  in  the  Bowery. 
Henry  Astor  was  brother  of  the  late  John  Jacob.  The  factory  was 
continued  on  the  original  site  until  the  expiration  of  the  lease  ; 
when  Mr.  Cooper  bought  some  ten  or  twelve  acres  of  land  in 
Maspeth,  Long  Island,  where  he  built  a  large  factory,  employing 
many  hands.  For  many  years  he  had  run  the  factory  in  New 
York  with  very  little  help.  He  was  at  his  business  early  and 
late,  lighting  his  own  fires,  laying  out  the  work,  keeping  his  own 
books ;  then  driving  down  town  to  his  office  in  Burling  slip, 
and  making  sales  per  sample,  he  was  at  little  expense,  and, 
before  he  was  forty  years  old,  was  a  rich  man,  as  riches  were 
counted  in  those  clays.  The  factory  at  Maspeth  was  burned  down 
only  one  year  after  its  erection,  the  loss  being  estimated  at  $40,- 
ooo,  and  was  not  insured.  Not  an  instant  was  lost  in  clearing  the 
ground  and  rebuilding  on  an  enlarged  and  improved  scale,;  and 
this  building  still  stands,  with  later  additions,  the  work  being  still 
carried  on  by  Mr.  Cooper's  successors. 

Peter  Cooper,  up  to  the  time  that  he  established  this  business, 
which  was  the  foundation  of  his  large  fortune,  had  never  lost  any- 
thing in  all  his  changes  of  occupation — nine  in  six  years !  he  had 
made  all  pay,  each  one  better  than  the  last.  His  first  absolute 
loss  was  through  the  fire,  but  he  was  then  in  a  position  not  to  be 
crippled  by  such  an  accident.  He  was,  though  a  very  "mild- 
mannered  gentleman,"  not  often  imposed  upon  in  business  trans- 
actions. The  nearest  to  such  an  adventure  happened  about  1828, 
when  two  plausible  speculators  induced  him  to  go  into  the  pur- 
chase of  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Baltimore  ;  there  were  3,000 
acres,  within  the  city  limits,  and  lying  along  the  shore  a  distance 
of  three  miles,  starting  from  Fells'  Point  dock.  Having  paid  his 
portion  of  the  purchase-money,  $150,000,  he  found  the  two  impe- 


PETER     COOPER.  99 

cunious  gentlemen  could  not  raise  theirs,  and  not  wishing  compli- 
cations with  them,  he  gave  them  $10,000  to  withdraw  their  claims, 
with  which  plunder  they  took  themselves  off,  well  satisfied.  This 
land  at  first  proved  .to  be  something  of  a  "white  elephant"  in  Mr. 
Cooper's  hands.  The  land-boom  had  been  started  under  a  false 
impression  that  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  was  an  assured 
success,  and  would  be  very  early  completed ;  this  was  very  far 
from  being  the  case.  This  road  was  started  under  peculiar  con- 
ditions, the  incorporators  having  put  out  five  dollar  shares,  with  the 
idea  of  popularizing  it.  But  the  engineers  encountered  many  diffi- 
culties, and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  it  was  found  that  the  con- 
struction expenses  had  increased  beyond  the  value  of  the  subscrip- 
tion list.  Formidable  obstacles,  in  the  shape  of  steep  grades  and 
sharp  curves,  had  discouraged  both  engineers  and  stockholders; 
many  of  the  most  sanguine  had  begun  to  fear  that  the  road  would 
never  be  completed,  and  that  no  locomotive  could  be  made  to  turn 
those  sharp  curves  safely. 

Now  the  value  of  Mr.  Cooper's  land  depended  almost  entirely 
upon  the  completion  of  this  road,  so  he  made  it  his  first  business 
to  convince  the  directors  that  their  fears  were  groundless,  and  he 
did  this  in  the  most  practical  way  possible.  Always  of  an  inventive 
turn  of  mind,  he  now  applied  all  his  energies  to  the  construction 
of  an  engine  which  should  overcome  the  difficulties.  This  he 
accomplished  entirely  on  his  own  plan,  and  at  his  own  expense. 
To  be  sure,  it  was  a  small  affair  compared  with  one  of  the  modern 
locomotives  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  but  it  was  only 
meant  to  exhibit  the  principle  upon  which  others  should  be  built. 
The  whole  affair  did  not  weigh  perhaps  over  a  ton,  with  wheels 
about  two  feet  in  diameter,  with  cylinders  of  three  and  a  half 
inches;  the  boiler,  instead  of  lying  horizontal,  was  placed  vertically, 
and  was  about  the  size  of  those  now  attached  to  kitchen  ranges. 
When  all  was  ready,  Mr.  Cooper  persuaded  thirty-six  stockholders, 
including  the  Mayor  of  Baltimore,  to  get  into  an  open  box-car  to 
make  a  trial  trip;  six  other  persons  were  packed  upon  the  engine, 


JOO  PETER     COOPER. 

which  also  carried  wood  and  water.  The  only  completed  portion 
of  the  road  was  from  Point  of  Rocks,  Baltimore,  to  Ellicott's  mills, 
a  distance  of  thirteen  miles.  Mr.  Cooper  acted  as  engineer,  and 
the  outward  trip  was  made  in  one  hour  and  twelve  minutes.  Mr. 
Cooper  had  solved  the  problem — the  road  was  saved,  and  the 
value  of  Peter  Cooper's  land  greatly  increased — not  in  immediate 
revenue,  but  in  prospective  value. 

The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  problem  being  thus  off  his 
hands,  Mr.  Cooper  turned  his  attention  to  his  3,000  acres  of  land. 
Much  of  this  was  in  wood,  and  every  year  large  quantities  of  trees 
were  cut  down  by  trespassers,  and  the  wood  stolen.  The  site  ap- 
pearing favorable,  Mr.  Cooper  determined  to  establish  iron-works 
on  the  place,  burning  the  wood  for  charcoal  for  his  furnaces. 

Subsequently  Mr.  Cooper  sold  off  his  Baltimore  property  to  a 
combination  of  Boston  capitalists  for  $90,000,  agreeing  to  take  part 
of  the  purchase-money  in  shares  of  the  stock,  which  these  gentle- 
men, under  the  name  of  the  "Canton  Iron  Company,"  proposed  to 
issue,  the  par  value  of  this  stock  being  $100.  Mr.  Cooper  took 
a  large  quantity  at  $45.  By  some  means  this  stock  was  "  bulled  " 
in  the  market  until  it  rose  to  $230,  when  Peter  Cooper  unloaded, 
pocketing  immense  profits.  Afterwards  he  started  iron-works  in 
New  York  on  a  large  scale ;  also  ran  a  wire  factory  in  Trenton, 
New  Jersey,  and  erected  blast-furnaces  at  Andover  and  Phillips- 
burg  in  that  State.  He  next  established  rolling  and  planing-mills, 
wire-works,  mining  and  blast-furnaces  in  various  parts  of  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  but  with  all  these  various  interests,  which  would  have  dis- 
tracted the  brain  of  any  common  man,  he  kept  on  serenely  with  his 
Long  Island  gl ue- facto ry ;  the  profits  from  all  these  works  rolling 
into  his  coffers  in  very  satisfactory  streams. 

First  and  last,  Mr.  Cooper  has  been  engaged  in  perhaps  as  many 
different  kinds  of  business  as  any  of  our  successful  men,  making 
almost  everything  from  a  brick  to  a  locomotive.  Not  a  fevf  people 
imagine  that  all  his  money  has  been  made  in  "  glue,"  t)ut  this  is  a 
great  mistake.  There  have  been  times  when  he  employed  as 


PETER     COOPER.  IOI 

many  as  2,500  men,  and  of  all  these,  as  he  used  to  say,  "  he  never 
owed  one  an  hour  after  his  work  was  done."  There  were  never 
any  "  strikes  "  under  his  administration.  He  never  asked  accom- 
modations of  the  banks,  but  paid  cash  right  along,  through  all  his 
transactions  with  employes  and  others.  In  addition  to  his  many 
branches  of  business,  he  still  found  leisure  time  in  which  to  experi- 
ment in  mechanics,  chemicals,  etc.  He  was  an  inventor  by  nature 
and  practice.  In  his  father's  business,  he  had  made  various  minor 
improvements  as  a  mere  boy ;  in  his  overwork  at  coach-making 
he  had  struck  out  novel  ideas  in  carving ;  he  made  an  improve- 
ment, which  was  patented,  in  the  cloth-shearing  machines  which 
he  found  in  use ;  and  perhaps  not  the  least  interesting  invention 
was  a  self-rocking  cradle,  combining  the  valuable  features  of  a  fly- 
repeller  and  a  musical  box.  This  ingenious  affair  was  made  in 
self-defence,  as  he  was  in  his  early  married  life  often  called  upon 
to  "  rock  the  cradle,"  while  his  young  wife  prepared  their  meals 
with  her  own  hands.  We  might  mention  the  improved  coal- 
kilns,  and  the  locomotive  which  he  made  in  Baltimore.  But  per- 
haps quite  as  much  a  novelty  as  any  of  these  was  his  experiment 
in  tractile  forces  with  an  endless  chain,  the  principle  being  the 
same  which  is  now  used  to  propel  the  cars  on  the  great  East  River 
Bridge.  The  idea  was  first  evolved  in  Mr.  Cooper's  mind  in  con- 
nection with  its  possible  use  on  the  Erie  canal,  shortly  before  the 
waters  of  Lake  Erie  were  let  into  "  Governor  Clinton's  big  ditch," 
as  the  opponents  of  the  work  were  pleased  to  call  this  great  water 
highway.  Mr.  Cooper  was  persuaded  that  the  most  economical 
mode  of  traction  for  the  canal-boats  would  be  by  the  endless  chain 
plan  ;  and  being  always  practical  in  his  arguments,  he  caused  to 
be  made  an  iron  chain  two  miles  long.  Then  he  drove  posts  into 
the  East  river  near  the  shore,  starting  at  Eighth  street,  and  con- 
tinuing at  intervals  for  one  mile  northward.  Next  he  rigged  a 
water-wheel,  and  getting  ready  a  boat,  made  his  connections,  and 
having  invited  Governor  Clinton,  Hamilton  Fish,  and  some  other 
gentlemen  to  witness  the  experiment,  and  accompany  him,  the 


IO2  PETER     COOPER. 

chain  was  set  in  motion,  and  so  well  did  it  operate,  that  the  boat 
was  drawn  back  and  forth  with  wonderful  speed  and  in  perfect 
safety,  the  two  miles  being  made  in  eleven  minutes.  For  this  ap- 
paratus Mr.  Cooper  received  a  patent,  and  when  the  President  of 
the  Camden  and  Amboy  Canal  Company,  a  few  years  ago,  hit  upon 
the  same  idea,  and  believing  he  had  made  an  original  discovery, 
entered  his  application  at  the  Patent  Office,  he  was  as  much  sur- 
prised as  disappointed  to  find  that  a  patent  for  the  same  thing  had 
been  issued  to  one  "  Peter  Cooper,  of  the  city  of  New  York,"  half 
a  century  before. 

Mr.  Cooper  afterwards  applied  the  "  endless  chain  principle  "  on 
a  short  railway,  where  loaded  cars  were  moved  on  a  double  track, 
one  over  the  other.  During  the  struggle  of  the  Greeks  against 
Turkey  in  1824-5,  Mr.  Cooper  made  a  torpedo-boat,  which  he  in- 
tended to  send  to  the  revolutionists,  but  this  was  unfortunately 
burned.  Many  other  inventions  might  be  named,  but  Mr.  Cooper's 
fame  did  not  rest  on  these  things,  and  we  pass  to  matters  of  more 
interest. 

When  the  new  science  of  telegraphy  was  introduced  by  Pro- 
fessor Morse,  Mr.  Cooper  was  among  the  first  to  see  its  sig- 
nificance, and  to  hail  its  advent  among  the  new  forces  put  into  the 
hands  of  man  for  the  control  of  nature.  Particularly  did  the  vast 
scheme  undertaken  by  Cyrus  W.  Field  for  tying  together  the 
eastern  and  western  hemispheres  chain  his  interest,  and  his  entire 
and  untiring  sympathy.  It  was  at  his  house  that  many  of  the 
preliminary  conferences  were  held,  and  he  was  the  first  president, 
though  the  association  \^as  organized  in  Mr.  Field's  house  in 
Gramercy  Park ;  but  so  great  was  Mr.  Cooper's  interest  in  the 
success  of  the  Atlantic  cable,  that  he  personally  accompanied  the 
party  which  was  to  lay  the  connecting  cable  across  the  Bay  of  St. 
Lawrence.  It  was,  we  believe,  the  only  time  that  Peter  Cooper 
ever  stood  upon  foreign  soil.  Starting  from  Cape  Bay,  the  party 
proceeded  to  join  the  steamer  on  which  was  the  cable.  It  was 
quite  a  gala-day ;  the  vessel  was  dressed  with  American  and  Brit- 


PETER     COOPER. 


'03 


ish  flags.  The  scientists,  including  Professor  Morse,  and  the  irre- 
pressible Cyrus  W.  Field,  were  jubilant  over  this  inauguration  of 
the  grand  enterprise ;  the  spectators  and  even  the  crew  were 
elated  with  the  novelty  and  excitement  of  the  occasion,  and  doubt- 
less all  would  have  gone  well,  had  it  not  been  for  the  clumsy  per- 
versity of  the  captain  of  the  towing  steamer.  He  belonged  to 
the  unbelieving  fraternity ;  had  no  faith  in  submarine  telegraphs, 
and  thought  the  gentlemen  engaged  in  the  business  "a  pack  of 
lunatics." 

If  ever  Peter  Cooper  allowed  a  righteous  indignation  to  get  the 
better  of  his  forbearance  and  charity,  it  was  when  speaking  of  this 
affair.  He  said  that  the  captain  of  the  towboat  first  stupidly  ran 
his  boat  so  as  to  come  in  violent  collision  with  the  cable  steamer, 
tearing  away  her  quarter  rail  and  shrouds,  and  then  carried  her 
out  of  the  harbor  with  such  force  that  the  cable  broke  and  had  to 
be  cut  and  respliced,  causing  a  delay  of  several  hours,  the  captain 
of  the  towboat  going  off  while  the  repairs  were  being  made.  On 
signaling  him  to  return  and  take  the  ship  on  her  course,  he  got 
the  towing-line  tangled  in  her  wheel,  and  it  had  to  be  cut ;  and  the 
simple  act  of  cutting  was  done  so  awkwardly  that  the  line  in  its 
rebound  swung  around  the  anchor  of  the  cable  steamship,  causing 
its  loss,  and  putting  the  vessel  and  party  on  board  in  great  peril, 
as  a  storm  just  then  unfortunately  arose,  and  the  vessel  was  drift- 
ing fast  towards  a  reef  of  rocks ;  the  towboat,  however,  came  up 
in  time  to  prevent  this  last  disaster.  Then  the  business  of  laying 
the  cable  across  the  gulf  cornmenced ;  but,  by  some  unexplained 
mismanagement,  the  wire  became  tangled  and  the  vessel  could  not 
proceed  ;  the  cable  had  to  be  cut,  and  was  dropped  into  the  sea, 
at  a  loss  of  $300,000  to  the  company.  Another  steamer  was  sub- 
sequently sent  to  recover  this  cable,  and  when  it  was  picked  up 
the  mystery  of  its  loss  was  explained.  Though  the  vessel  had 
only  made  a  distance  of  nine  miles  from  land,  the  towing  captain 
had  paid  out  twenty-four  miles  of  cable !  Certainly,  if  he  had 
been  in  the  pay  of  the  enemies  of  the  cable  company  he  could  not 
have  served  them  better. 


IO4  PETER     COOPER. 

Mr.  Cooper  was  one  of  those  few  men  in  New  York  who  held 
steadfastly  to  his  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  Atlantic  cable 
through  evil  as  well  as  good  report,  and  was  always  ready  to  back 
his  faith  with  his  money.  At  one  time,  when  the  Bank  of  New- 
foundland refused  to  honor  the  paper  of  the  company,  he  paid  at 
once  the  required  sum  of  $20,000;  nor  was  this  the  only  twenty- 
thousand  that  he  paid  to  help  the  enterprise  out  of  difficulties,  be- 
sides numerous  smaller  sums.  In  fact,  for  fourteen  years  his 
checks  were  always  ready  for  this  grand  object. 

Peter  Cooper  has  been  identified  with  so  many  interests  in  New 
York  and  elsewhere  that,  if  the  great  work  of  his  life,  as  recog- 
nized by  the  people,  were  omitted,  he  would  still  have  had  one  of 
the  fullest  and  best  records  of  any  contemporary  citizen  ;  but,  in 
the  conception  and  execution  of  the  Cooper  Union,  he  has  placed 
the  crown  upon  all  of  his  other  beneficences  and  charities — because 
that  is  permanent  and  self-perpetuating.  How  did  Mr.  Cooper, 
who  had  no  school  education  himself,  come  to  think  of  this  noble 
institution  ?  It  appears  that  one  of  his  friends  and  colleagues  in 
the  Board  of  Aldermen,  Mr.  Rogers,  went  to  Europe  on  a  visit, 
and  had  been  much  struck  with  what  he  had  seen  and  learned  of 
the  famous  Polytechnic  in  Paris,  and  on  his  return  told  Mr.  Cooper 
all  he  J<ne\v  about  it,  adding  that  "  there  were  many  young  men 
attending  the  school,  with  scarcely  any  means,  who  actually  lived 
on  a  crust  of  bread  daily  for  the  sake  of  pursuing  their  studies 
there."  This  incident  occurred  when  he  was  making  money  fast, 
though  not  yet  rich,  but  the  thought  about  the  Polytechnic  took 
deep  root,  and  he  said  to  himself,  "  If  ever  I  am  able  I  will 
establish  such  a  school  in  New  York — free  for  those  unable  to 
pay."  For  thirty  years  this  idea  germinated  and  expanded 
within  him.  How  often,  indeed,  had  he  felt  the  need  of 
technical  instruction  himself!  But  no  one  had  founded  a  free 
school  for  him,  and  he  had  to  scramble  on  through  all  his  early 
life,  learning  through  his  eyes  and  ears,  by  conversation  with 
manufacturers  and  workmen,  with  merchants  and  miners,  reading 


PETER     COOPER.  Io- 

as  he  had  time,  remembering  everything  and  putting  so  much 
acquired  information  to  practical  use  that  he  was  sure  never  to 
forget  what  he  learned.  How  many  self-made  men,  who  have 
acquired  fortunes,  have  said,  when  urged  to  give  something  for 
educational  institutions,  "  I've  got  along  very  well  without  an 
education;  let  .others  do  the  same!"  Not  so  -Peter  Cooper; 
no  matter  how  bravely  he  overcame  the  deficiencies,  he  knew  that 
he  could  have  saved  himself  many  long,  weary  hours  of  labor, 
which  proved  useless  or  superfluous,  if  he  had  enjoyed,  some  pre- 
vious instruction  in  mechanics,  chemistry  and  other  scientific 
studies ;  but  the  toils  he  had  undergone  only  made  him  more  piti- 
ful for  his  fellow-men  ;  his  own  remarkable  success  did  not  harden 
him,  as  great  wealth  does  many  persons  ;  instead  of  scorning  the 
weak  he  sought  to  help  them  over  the  hard  places,  and  thus  feel- 
ing, the  thought  of  a  great  free  institution  of  instruction  assumed 
greater  importance  in  his  mind.  But  it  was  not  until  1854  that 
the  plan  was  matured,  drawings  made,  land  cleared  and  the  actual 
work  commenced ;  most  of  the  land  had  indeed  been  bought  long 
previously,  but  at  this  period  all  that  was  needed  had  been  pur- 
chased. The  plot  of  ground  on  which  the  "  Cooper  Union  "  build- 
ing stands  is  located  at  the  head  of  the  Bowery,  between  Third 
and  Fourth  avenues ;  it  has  a  frontage  of  ninety  feet,  the  rear 
being  one  hundred  and  forty-six  feet,  and  the  sides  respectively 
one  hundred  and  sixty-five  and  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet, 
composing  an  irregular  quadrangle.  The  first  estimate  of  the  cost, 
exclusive  of  land,  was  $350,000,  but,  before  it  was  completed,  it 
had  cost  $700,000.  The  precise  object  that  Mr.  Cooper  had  in 
view,  in  its  erection  and  endowment,  is  thus  concisely  stated  by  the 
founder  in  a  document  which  was  placed  under  the  corner-stone  of 
the  building. 

"  The  great  object  that  I  desire  to  accomplish  by  the  erection 
of  this  institution  is  to  open  the  avenues  of  scientific  knowledge  to 
the  youth  of  our  city  and  country,  and  so  unfold  the  volume  of 
nature,  that  the  young  may  see  the  beauties  of  creation,  enjoy  its 


IO6  PETER     COOPER. 

blessings  and  learn  to  love  the  Author,  from  whom  cometh  every 
good  and  perfect  gift." 

So  simply,  piously  and  intelligently  did  Peter  Cooper  commence 
the  great  work  which  is  to  hand  his  name  down  to  a  grateful  suc- 
cession of  unknown  and  yet  unborn  beneficiaries. 

In  politics  Mr.  Cooper  was  a  Democrat  and  served  as  alder- 
man for  many  years.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  espoused 
what  is  known  as  the  "  Greenback "  party  ;  for  many  years  he 
was  a  sachem  of  Tammany  Hall,  when  that  organization  was 
in  purer  and  more  patriotic  hands  than  at  present.  In  1849, 
.while  its  presiding  officer,  he  made  an  address  eloquently  advo- 
cating strict  honesty  in  the  management  of  municipal  affairs. 
Later,  when  he  saw  that  the  organization  was  given  over  to  the 
"  one-man  rule ''  system,  and  selfish  ends  took  the  place  of 
patriotic  action,  he  withdrew  from  the  association.  Peter  Cooper 
could  tolerate  no  crooked  ways,  nor  be  a  party  to  bargains  where 
principles  were  sacrificed  to  profit.  He  held  peculiar  views  upon 
the  currency  question — views  which  have  not  been  indorsed 
by  any  eminent  statesmen  or  any  large  political  party,  but  which 
he  had  studied  out  for  himself  and  upheld  with  perfect  sincerity 
and  unselfishness,  for  they  could  bring  him  no  special  honor 
among  political  economists  or  practical  legislators ;  but  a  small 
party,  known  as  the  "  Greenbackers,"  took  him  up  as  their  Presi- 
dential candidate  in  the  campaign  of  1876,  and  the  convention  of 
the  "  National  Independent  or  Greenback  Party,"  meeting  at 
Indianapolis,  on  the  lyth  of  May  of  the  Centennial  year,  nomi- 
nated him  for  the  highest  office  in  the  land.  At  first  Mr.  Cooper 
declined  to  accept  the  nomination,  but  was  afterwards  induced  to 
do  so  by  the  continued  solicitation  of  his  friends.  The  party  polled 
but  a  very  small  vote,  as  was  to  be  expected. 

The  failure  of  the  Greenback  party  was  in  no  way  due  to  the 
character  of  its  candidate,  but  to  the  impracticability  of  its  theories : 
it  would  have  failed  with  any  possible  nominee.  In  fact,  with  all 
his  other  fine  qualities  and  great  capacities,  it  derogates  nothing 


PETER    COOPER.  IO7 

from  the  value  of  Mr.  Cooper's  character  to  frankly  admit  that 
he  was  not  a  statesman,  or  could  ever  have  made  even  a  successful 
politician. 

On  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Cooper's  ninety-second  and  last  birth- 
day celebration,  there  was  an  increased  ovation  prepared  by  his 
friends,  and  he  took  that  occasion  to  present  to  each  of  his  callers 
and  guests  a  copy  of  his  latest  work,  a  book  entitled  "  Ideas  for  a 
Science  of  Good  Government ; "  it  contained  his  opinions  on  the 
tariff,  finance,  civil  service,  the  organization  of  labor,  and  such  like 
subjects.  He  was  very  fond  of  getting  his  thoughts  before  the 
public  in  printed  form,  and  many  brochiires  bearing  his  name  have 
been  issued  by  the  press,  which  sometimes  included  speeches  and 
addresses  made  on  public  occasions. 

Among  the  many  other  services  rendered  to  the  city  of  his 
birth  by  the  great  philanthropist,  was  the  aid  which  he  gave  in  its 
greatest  need  to  the  American  Geographical  Society.  For  ten 
years,  from  1865  to  1875,  he  was  almost  its  only  reliable  support. 
This  fact,  of  which  there  had  been  no  previous  publicity,  was  stated 
at  a  meeting  of  the  society,  held  in  Chickering  Hall,  in  honor  of 
his  memory  shortly  after  his  decease.  As  a  token  of  gratitude 
the  society  have  ordered  a  life-size  portrait  of  their  colleague  and 
benefactor  to  be  painted  and  placed  in  the  rooms.  Though  not  a 
scientist  in  the  modern  acceptation  of  the  word,  Mr.  Cooper  was 
ever  alive  to  the  interests  of  science ;  and  to  this  influence  may  be 
attributed  the  establishment  of  that  eminently  valuable  department, 
the  Bureau  of  Vital  Statistics. 

Mr.  Cooper's  long  life  is  partly  to  be  attributed,  no  doubt,  to 
his  good  habits,  even  temperament,  and  constant  occupation,  and 
also,  we  may  add,  the  natural  pleasure  which  he  constantly  expe- 
rienced in  seeing  others  made  happy  through  his  means.  He  did 
not  appear  to  be,  in  his  childhood,  as  strong  as  the  average  boy, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  he  was  over-worked  in  his  early 
youth;  but  when  he  became  master  of  his  own  time,  he  seems  to 
have  known  how  to  mingle  hard  work  and  study,  routine  duties 


IO8  PETER     COOPER. 

and  inventive  experiments  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  the  best 
physical  results ;  and  though  for  many  years  he  had  a  great  variety 
of  business  on  his  hands,  he  had  such  firm  grasp  of  the  whole,  and 
possessed  that  essential  self-poise  and  confidence  in  his  own  abil- 
ity that  he  never  became  nervous  and  fretful  as  do  many  persons 
under  similar  circumstances.  Then,  too,  in  eating  and  drinking 
he  exercised  becoming  moderation,  yet  he  was  not  an  ascetic  or 
fanatic;  he  knew  how  to  use  the  good  things  of  life  without  abus- 
ing them.  He  was  not  a  "  total  abstinence  "  man  ;  he  had  never 
felt  the  need  of  resorting  to  such  extreme  measures  in  the  regula- 
tion of  his  own  life.  He  was,  however,  a  member  of  the  Business 
Men's  Moderation  Society,  and  was  ever  anxious  to  promote  the 
cause  of  true  sobriety. 

It  is  said  by  those  who  know  the  interior  workings  of  the  Cooper 
method,  that  when  the  late  philanthropist  was  disposed  to  make 
an  important  gift  of  any  kind,  as  in  the  building  endowment,  and 
subsequent  gifts  to  the  Cooper  Institute,  that  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  consulting  and  procuring  the  approval  of  his  wife  and  other 
adult  members  of  his  family,  so  that  he  should  be  assured  that  his 
action  would  cause  no  unpleasant  feelings  or  regrets  among  those 
who  might  properly  expect  to  be  his  heirs.  If  this  was  so,  as  we 
believe  it  was,  it  showed  an  unusual  wisdom,  and  was  a  course 
calculated,  above  all  others,  to  secure  for  himself  a  peaceful  and 
happy  old  age;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  know  that  his  son,  Mr.  Edward 
Cooper,  ex-Mayor  of  New  York,  and  his  son-in-law  and  daughter, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  as  well  as  his  wife,  when  alive, 
heartily  sympathized  with  and  participated  in  his  interest  with  all 
that  concerned  the  Cooper  Union.  Whether  they  always  coin- 
cided in  his  views  and  modes  as  to  minor  charities  is  not  so  im- 
portant. Some  of  these  modes  were  as  unconventional  as  was 
that  of  the  divine  Nazarene  who  sent  out  into  the  highways  and 
hedges  to  collect  his  guests. 

During  the  "hard  times "  of  the  winters  from  1874  to  1877, 
there  was  great  suffering  among  the  unemployed  poor ;  there  was 


PETER    COOPER. 


I09 


never  at  any  previous  time  in  the  United  States  so  many  people 
unable  to  obtain  work  who  were  willing-  .to  do  it  During  these 
winters  the  venerable  Peter  Cooper  sat  in  his  comfortable  resi- 
dence at  No.  9  Lexington  avenue,  in  his  combined  library  and . 
office  on  the  ground-floor,  and  on  the  table  before  him  was  piled, 
on  one  side,  heaps  of  silver  half  dollars,  on  the  other  side  packages 
of  one  dollar  bills,  and  from  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  until 
half-past  six  he  distributed  this  money  to  any  and  every  poor  per- 
son who  asked  for  it.  He  did  not  question  them  and  torment 
them  with  suspicions ;  he  did  not  ask  if  they  were  "  worthy."  If 
they  were  poor  enough  to  need  a  dollar  and  to  come  for  it,  they 
received  it  with  a  benevolent  smile  and  went  their  way,  blessing  in 
their  hearts,  if  not  in  profuse  words,  the  generous  giver.  Occa- 
sionally if  a  case  was  presented  which  seemed  peculiar  or  particu- 
larly needy,  or  where  ill-health  was  obvious,  the  address  of  the 
applicant  was  taken  and  further  assistance  rendered.  Mr.  Cooper 
was  wont  to  say,  that  the  poor  members  of  churches  and  other 
"  worthy  "  persons  would  be  looked  after  by  organized  societies  ; 
his  largess  was  to  a  certain  extent  indiscriminate,  and  it  was  the 
sufferer's  need  rather  than  his  worth  which  excited  his  compas- 
sion— those  whom  no  one  else  would  help  came  to  him.  On  some 
days  as  much  as  $200  was  given  away  in  this  manner.  In  one 
week  there  was  $1,500  thus  disposed  of. 

Mr.  Cooper  died  on  Wednesday,  the  4th  of  April,  1883.  In 
February  of  the  same  year  he  had  celebrated  his  ninety-second 
birthday  anniversary.  The  immediate  cause  of  his  death  was  ex- 
haustion from  several  heavy  colds  contracted  during  the  winter, 
the  last  being  complicated  with  pneumonia,  yet  he  was  only  con- 
fined to  his  bed  for  a  little  over  twenty-four  hours,  and  a  week 
previously  had  been  down-town  to  the  office  of  "  Cooper,  Hewitt 
&  Co.,"  Burling  slip,  and  the  Saturday  previous  had  driven  -to 
Cooper  Institute,  where  he  remained  a  long  time  overseeing  some 
repairs  being  made  there.  Of  hie  immediate  family  Mr.  Cooper 
left  but  one  son,  Edward,  and  one  daughter,  Sarah  Amelia 


10 


PETER     COOPER. 


(Hewitt),  who  have  respectively  five  and  six  children.  Mr. 
Cooper  had  lost  four  children  in  infancy.  By  his  will,  after  be- 
queathing an  additional  $100,000  for  the  uses  of  the  Cooper  Union, 
he  divides  the  rest  of  his  property  equally  between  his  two  chil- 
dren, subject  to  many  legacies  to  relatives  and  connections  by 
marriage,  not  forgetting  his  household  servants  and  certain  old 
employes.  Like  all  the  rest  of  his  life  his  will  was  reasonable  and 
satisfactory  to  all  who  had  any  right  to  have  an  opinion  on  the 
subject. 

As  the  news  of  Mr.  Cooper's  death  was  spread  abroad  through 
the  city  there  was  universal  recognition  as  of  a  general  loss  ; 
flags  began  to  rise  half-mast  high ;  institutions  with  which  he  was 
connected  closed  their  doors;  the  classes  in  Cooper  Institute  sus- 
pended their  work,  teachers  and  pupils  being  too  much  affected 
to  continue;  stores  broke  out  into  mourning;  private  houses  were 
seen  with  crape-draped  pictures  of  Peter  Cooper  in  their  windows, 
and  every  symptom  of  respect  and  sympathy  was  as  spontaneous 
as  universal.  The  funeral  was  held  (after  private  service  at  the 
house)  in  the  Unitarian  church  on  Fourth  avenue  and  Twentieth 
street,  of  which  the  late  Dr.  Bellows  had  been  for  many  years  the 
pastor.  It  was  here  that  Mr.  Cooper  had  attended  service  ever 
since  the  church  was  built.  The  crowd  which  gathered  about  the 
edifice  was  immense,  and  a  cordon  of  police  was  found  necessary 
to  keep  the  street  from  becoming  blocked.  This  was  a  real  and 
not  a  mock  funeral. 

Peter  Cooper  was  an  extraordinary  man  ;  the  first  marvel  of  his 
life  is  the  great  variety  of  occupations  which  he  undertook,  and 
which  he  succeeded  in,  without  any  visible  means  of  acquiring  any 
specific  knowledge  about  them.  The  earlier  trades  he  learned 
more  or  less  perfectly  from  his  father  and  the  foreman  of  the 
coach  factory,  but  where  did  he  learn  to  make  cloth-shearing  ma- 
chines? upon  which  work  he  commenced  as  a  journeyman,  at 
good  wages,  immediately  after  completing  his  apprenticeship  at 
coach-making.  Where  did  he  get  his  information  how  to  make 


PETER     COOPER.  !  T  i 

better  glue,  isinglass,  etc.,  etc.,  than  others  had  made?  and  yet  he 
f  conducted  this  business  himself  for  years  ;  how  did  he  know  how 
to  build  kilns  for  making  charcoal  for  locomotives  to  save  a  mori- 
bund railroad?  How  could  he  venture  on  the  manufacture  of 
iron,  who  had  never  been  taught  the  trade?  or  cabinet  furniture? 
as  he  did  on  Long  Island.  How  few  persons  could  open  a  grocery 
store  and  make  it  pay  from  the  start  who  had  never  been  brought 
up  in  the  business  ?  how  many  lads  could  make  a  shoemaker's 
last  and  then  make  a  wearable  shoe  upon  it  who  had  never  been 
taught  either  art?  or  a  machine  for  mortising  hubs?  when  they 
were  only  learning  the  old  style  already  in  use.  If  in  early  life  this 
man  had  been  to  a  German  " real  schnle"  a  Stevens  Technical  In- 
stitute, or  a  Cooper  Union,  we  might  understand  how  he  might 
get  an  insight  into  many  trades  and  acquire  general  ideas  upon 
mechanics,  chemicals,  water-power,  and  so  forth;  but  the  mystery 
deepens  when  we  consider  that  he  received  all  his  schooling  be- 
f  tween  his  seventh  and  eighth  year — about  six  months  in  all,  barely 
time  to  learn  to  read.  What  industry  he  must  have  exercised  in 
after  life  to  make  up  this  sad  deficiency !  what  acuteness  in  ob- 
serving !  what  self-denial  in  cutting  himself  off  from  all  the  ordinary 
pleasures  of  youth ! 

Mr.  Cooper  has  himself  said  that  he  attributed  his  success  mainly 
to  the  fact  that  he  always  rendered  a  full  equivalent  for  every  dol- 
lar received;  another  reason,  we  think,  may  be  added,  namely, 
that  he  always  paid  cash  and  paid  promptly  all  whom  he  employed, 
and  was  never  morose  or  over-exacting.  He  was  self-helpful ; 
for  the  first  half  of  his  life  he  never  hired  any  one  to  do  for  him 
what  he  could  do  for  himself;  he  worked  steadily  upward  and 
onward,  showing  no  nervous  desire  to  get  into  aristocratic  circles, 
but  as  he  grew  in  years  and  knowledge  he  naturally  acquired  the 
manners  of  good  society  and  took  his  place — the  place  which  ac- 
quired wealth  had  given  him,  without  ostentation,  but  without  any 
false  modesty  ;  he  grew  old  gracefully,  and  he  grew  rich  without 
assuming  any  of  the  airs  of  the  parvenu. 


JUDAH    TOURO. 

THE  Israelite  without  guile  was  Judah  Touro,  whose  memory  is 
treasured  not  only  in  New  Orleans,  where  he  left  so  many  public 
memorials  of  his  benevolence,  but  in  other  parts  of  the  country 
and  in  foreign  lands,  where  his  great  generosity  was  enjoyed. 
He  was  first  a  philanthropist  and  then  a  Hebrew ;  first  a  man  and 
then  a  sectarian.  His  great  love-nature  was  diverted  from  domestic 
ties,  for  he  had  neither  wife  nor  child';  and  after  he  had  reached 
manhood  neither  kith  nor  kin  found  expression  in  a  broad  human- 
itarian affection  that  included  all  his  kind.  A  sweet  reasonable- 
ness characterized  his  life ;  gentleness  and  patience  were  his 
attributes,  and  his  loving  devotion  to  good  works  attested  the 
nobility  of  his  mind.  From  his  earliest  years  he  was  rich  in  the 
inheritance  of  a  generous  disposition,  and  but  for  his  singleness  of 
purpose,  his  instinctive  love  of  work — in  other  words,  his  industry — 
he  would  not  have  acquired  the  fortune  that  he  did,  since  he  gave 
with  a  liberal  hand  from  the  moment  that  he  possessed  means  of 
his  own.  In  order  to  give  he  denied  himself,  living,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  career  as  he  lived  to  the  close,  a  life  of  severe  sim- 
plicity and  priestly  purity. 

His  heart  was  larger  than  sects,  and  greater  than  mankind. 
He  loved  all  men ;  sought  to  serve  the  world,  and  gave  his  life  to 
the  gratification  of  this  desire.  He  was  a  phenomenal  character  in 
New  Orleans  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  when  he  went  there 
from  New  England  to  begin  his  career.  He  was  a  phenomenal 
character  when  he  died  there,  in  1854,  having  passed  through 
half  a  century  of  time  without  incurring  resentment  or  encoun- 
tering enmity.  This,  of  itself,  is  evidence  of  rare  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart,  and,  taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  he 
(I'M) 


JUDAH     TOURO.  I  13 

was  all  the  time  amassing  money  and  died  a  millionaire,  an  idea 
of  his  personality  may  be  had.  The  story  of  his  life  is  therefore 
worth  the  hearing,  and  more  than  worth  the  telling. 

Judah  Touro  was  the  son  of  a  highly  educated  and  cultured 
Hebrew,  born  in  Holland,  and  whose  parents  were  wealthy,  and 
who  gave  their  child  every  advantage.  They  furthermore  gave 
him,  which  was  of  more  value  to  him,  a  fine  constitution,  a  good  dis- 
position, and  an  early  childhood  of  sunny  memories.  The  domestic 
life  of  the  Hebrew  people  is  a  credit  to  them,  and  the  men  and 
women  of  the  race  owe  more  of  their  happiness  to  this  fact  than 
to  any  other.  Isaac  Touro  was  the  son  of  a  happy  home,  and 
when  he  went  forth  from  that  home  it  was  with  no  half-formed 
ideas  of  life  and  its  duties.  Reared  religiously,  he  was  a  devoted 
Hebrew,  and  when  he  came  from  Holland  to  America,  and  settled 
at  Newport,  R.  I.,  it  was  to  officiate  as  priest  in  the  synagogue  of 
Yeshuat  Israel,  in  that  pleasant  sea-side  city,  in  the  year  1762, 
where  he  married  into  an  excellent  family.  His  wife  was  the  sis- 
ter of  Michael  Moses  Hays,  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Newport, 
and  she  bore  him  three  children,  ere  the  Jewish  congregation 
was  scattered  by  the  British  army,  which  devastated  the  coast,  com- 
pelling the  Rabbi  and  his  family  to  seek  refuge  in  Kingston, 
Jamaica.  Of  these  children,  Judah,  the  eldest,  born  at  the  very 
hour,  in  1776,  when  the  pealing  artillery  declared  American  Inde- 
pendence, was  only  seven  years  of  age  when  the  death  of  his 
father,  penniless  and  far  from  the  home  of  his  adoption,  threw  the 
little  family  upon  the  kindness  of  his  mother's  brother.  The  four 
were  received  into  Mr.  Hayes'  family,  but  the  mother  soon  fol- 
lowed her  husband  into  the  grave,  leaving  all  three  to  the  care  of 
the  best  and  kindest  of  uncles.  By  him  they  were  reared  care- 
fully in  habits  of  integrity  and  industry.  The  younger  brother 
and  sister  died  soon  after  Judah  reached  manhood,  and  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  alone  remained  of  all  the  name. 

From  the  counting-room  of  Mr.  Hays,  Judah  Touro  was  sent  as 
supercargo  with  a  costly  shipment  of  goods  to  the  trading  ports 
8 


U/j.  JUDAH     TOURO. 

of  the  Mediterranean.  On  this  voyage  the  ship  had  a  fierce  en- 
counter with  a  French  privateer,  from  which  it  came  off  conqueror, 
and  the  young  merchant  returned  only  to  embark  in  1801  for  the 
city  of  New  Orleans,  which  was  to  be  his  future  home.  This  young 
Spanish  city  was  then  in  its  infancy,  and  Mr.  Touro  was  destined 
to  grow  up  with  its  growth  and  wealth.  Opening  a  store  of  "  no- 
tions "  on  St.  Louis  street,  he  embarked  in  trade  on  his  own 
account.  Clear,  cool-headed,  of  unquestioning  integrity,  com- 
petent and  faithful  to  fulfil  every  undertaking,  it  took  but  little 
time  for  Mr.  Touro  to  win  the  respect  of  all  business  men. 
Shippers  from  the  North  were  only  too  glad  to  bring  him 
their  cargoes ;  which  he  never  risked  by  speculation.  Here  he 
early  formed  the  strongest  ties  of  his  life.  Two  young  Vir- 
ginians, J.  H.  and  Rezin  D.  Shepherd,  and  Judah  Touro  became 
almost  inseparable,  and  when  the  former  died,  the  friendship 
with  the  surviving  brother  became  yet  stronger  and  firmer 
than  ever.  They  lived  under  the  same  roof  and  were  rarely  sep- 
arated. And  soon  a  stronger  and  yet  more  sacred  bond  united 
them. 

When  Louisiana  was  invaded  during  the  war  of  1814-15,  these 
two  young  men  sprang  to  the  defence  of  their  adopted  city,  Mr. 
Touro  being  attached  to  the  militia,  and  Mr.  Shepherd  to  the 
horse  troop. 

The  latter,  while  acting  as  aid  to  Commodore  Patterson, 
was  sent  on  an  expedition  with  orders  to  have  some  work 
executed  immediately.  While  absent,  he  learned  that  his  friend, 
Touro,  had  been  killed,  and  that  his  remains  wjere  lying  by  an  old 
semi-detached  wall.  Proceeding  thither,  Mr.  Shepherd  found 
his  friend  still  breathing  but  speechless  and  apparently  fast  going, 
having  been  struck  on  the  thigh  by  a  twelve-pound  shot,  leaving'a 
terrible  wound.  The  physician  in  charge  giving  no  hope  of  his 
life,  Mr.  Shepherd  lifted  the  unconscious  form  into  a  cart  and  had 
it  tenderly  conveyed  to  the  city,  administering  brandy,  meanwhile, 
to  keep  the  flame  of  life  alive.  He  never  rested  until  Mr.  Touro 


JUDAH     TOURO.  I  I  5 

was  placed  in  his  own  bed  and  the  best  nurses  to  be  found  were  in 
attendance ;  this  done,  he  hastened  to  fulfil  the  commission  which 
had  been  intrusted  to  him  by  Commodore  Patterson. 

It  is  no  wonder  if  his  commander  looked  at  him  sternly  and 
inquired  the  cause  of  his  delay,  which  Mr.  Shepherd  soon  explained. 
He  finished  by  saying: 

"  Commodore,  you  can  hang  me  or  shoot  me  ;  it  will  be  all  right; 
but  my  best  friend  needed  my  assistance,  and  nothing  on  earth 
could  have  induced  me  to  neglect  him." 

And  what  could  his  chief  officer  do  but  forgive  and  admire  his 
courage  and  friendship  ? 

t  It  is  needles-s  to  say  that  the  two  became  warmer  friends  than 
ever,  after  the  convalescence  of  the  wounded  man,  and  the  war  was 
ended. 

The  lovely  character  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  continued  un- 
dimmed  in  lustre  with  the  advance  of  years  and  the  increase 
of  wealth.  No  less  charitable,  no  less  philanthropic,  no  less 
thoughtful  of  the  rights  of  others,  he  continued  to  the  day  of  his 
death  a  pattern  of  an  upright,  true,  noble-minded  gentleman. 
Quietly  he  established  religious  and  educational  institutions  and 
liberally  he  endowed  them.  A  man  of  peace  and  tranquillity,  he 
avoided  everything  which  tended  to  foster  strife,  and  could  not 
even  endure  theological  disputations.  In  fact  he  was  eminently 
non-sectarian,  as  one  incident  will  show.  Agents  who  were  in  New 
Orleans  soliciting  funds  wherewith  to  relieve  the  poor  Christians 
in  Jerusalem,  were  directed  to  solicit  alms  from  the  rich  Hebrew, 
and  they  were  successful,  to  the  great  surprise  of  those  who  sent 
them  on  what  they  supposed  a  fruitless  errand,  for  Mr.  Touro  had 
contributed  two  hundred  dollars  to  their  fund. 

Again,  when  the  only  Universalist  Church  in  New  Orleans  was 
in  danger  of  sale  through  church-debt,  it  was  this  Hebrew  who  at- 
tended the  sheriff's  sale,  and  without  promise,  parade  or  ostenta- 
tion, bid  off  the  church  and  became  its  sole  owner.  Then  turning 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clapp,  its  pastor,  he  bade  him  continue  to  hold 


j  j  g  JUDAH     TOURO. 

services  in  that  building  which  had  been  saved  for  the  purpose  by 
one  whose  own  religious  tenets  were  those  of  the  Jewish  faith. 
Nor  did  he  ever  ask  for  rent  so  long  as  it  stood ;  and  after 
its  destruction  by  fire,  it  was  Mr.  Touro  who  came  forward 
with  a  large  subscription  of  money  to  go  toward  the  fund  for  re- 
building. 

Nor  were  his  benefactions  confined  to  purely  local  objects.  His 
check  for  $10,000  helped  finish  Bunker  Hill  monument,  which 
commemorates  the  victories  of  the  American  Revolution.  He 
never  owned  but  one  slave,  and  him  he  freed  and  supplied  with 
means  by  which  he  was  able  to  embark  in  business,  and  he  eman- 
cipated and  aided  those  owned  by  his  friends,  the  Shepherds. 
Indeed,  so  generous,  loyal  and  catholic  a  spirit  has  seldom  been  in 
any  city.  Faithful,  true,  unselfish,  the  poor  blessed,  and  the  rich 
loved  him. 

In  1854  Judah  Touro  sank  gently  into  his  last  slumber,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-nine.  Two  weeks  before,  he  signed  his  last  will,  in 
which,  after  giving  $80,000  to  establish  an  almshouse,  and  bestow- 
ing one-half  his  estate  on  other  charitable  institutions,  endowments 
to  various  Hebrew  congregations  and  a  large  legacy  to  aid  in  re- 
storing to  Israel  the  scattered  tribes  of  Israel,  he  made  his  old 
friend  and  companion  the  residuary  legatee  of  his  vast  fortune. 
He  says :  "As  regards  my  other  designated  executor,  my  old,  dear 
and  devoted  friend,  Rezin  David  Shepherd,  to  whom,  under  Divine 
Providence,  I  am  greatly  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  my  life, 
etc.,"  and  then  appoints  him  "  the  universal  legatee  of  the  rest  and 
residue  of  my  estates,  movable  and  immovable." 

Such  was  the  remembrance  and  gratitude  of  one  noble  spirit  for 
the  loving  acts  of  another,  which  had  taken  place  nearly  forty  years 
before  ! 

One  of  the  strongest  wishes  of  his  latest  hours  was,  that  his 
mortal  remains  might  be  carried  to  Newport,  there  to  repose  be- 
side that  of  the  mother  whom  he  so  tenderly  loved,  and  who  had 
been  taken  from  him  when  he  was  but  eleven  years  old.  In  fact 


JUDAH     TOURO.  I  I  7 

it  was  so  expressed  in  his  will.  Accordingly  the  coffin  containing 
all  that  was  left  of  the  good  old  man  was  conveyed  north  by 
the  steamer,  and  placed  before  the  altar  of  that  synagogue  in 
which  his  father  had  been  officiating  priest  more  than  eighty 
years  before.  And  after  the  last  solemn  ceremonies,  a  long 
procession  both  of  friends  and  strangers  followed  one  to  the 
grave  who  had  left  a  name  linked  with  a  thousand  good  deeds 
and  scarce  a  fault  to  mar  them.  Truly,  does  the  memory  of 
such 

"  Smell  sweet 
*  And  blossom  in  the  dust." 


HENRY   DISSTON. 

HENRY  DISSTON,  founder  of  the  great  establishment  owned  by 
the  firm  of  Henry  Disston  &  Sons,  known  as  the  Keystone  Saw 
Works,  was  born  in  Tewkesbury,  England,  May  24,  1.819,  and  died 
of  paralysis,  March  16,  1878.  He  came  to  this  country  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  years,  in  company  with  his  father  and  oldest  sister. 
The  father  died  three  days  after  their  arrival  in  Philadelphia. 
After  a  short  time  he  bound  himself  apprentice  to  the  trade  of 
saw-maker,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  service  commenced  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account  in  a  room  and  basement  in  the  vicinity 
of  Second  and  Arch  streets :  the  room  being  used  as  an  office  and 
workshop,  and  the  basement  as  a  hardening  room.  He  did  all  his 
own  work — wheeling  the  first  barrow-load  of  coal  from  Willow 
street  wharf  to  his  shop,  a  distance  of  half  a  mile.  The  manufac- 
true  of  hand-saws  had  already  been  attempted  by  other  parties, 
but  with  indifferent  success,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  reserved 
for  Mr.  Disston  to  establish  that  important  and  useful  branch  of 
industry  on  a  firm  and  enduring  basis  in  this  country.  But  this 
was  not  accomplished  without  many  severe  trials  and  struggles. 
In  order  to  prove  to  merchants  that  he  was  determined  to  compete 
with  the  foreign  market,  Mr.  Disston  was  frequently  compelled  to 
sell  his  saws  at  an  advance  of  only  one  per  cent,  over  the  cost  of 
production.  In  the  year  1846  he  removed  his  small  establishment 
and  rented  a  frame  building  on  the  side  of  the  Philadelphia 
Works  at  Front  and  Laurel  streets:  this  building  being  the  germ 
from  which  sprung  the  present  extensive  works  at  Front  and 
Laurel  streets  and  Tacony.  In  1849  he  was  burned  out,  and  this 
event  caused  him  to  take  up  a  lot  adjoining,  sixty  by  one  hundred 

(118) 


HENRY  DISSTON. 


HENRY     DISSTON  I  1 9 

and  fifty  feet,  on  which,  in  the  space  of  ten  days,  his  first  factory, 
thirty  by  sixty  feet,  and  four  stories  high,  was  erected. 

The  business  has  grown  steadily  since  that  time :  largely  as  the 
result  of  skill  and  persistence  in  the  invention  and  adoption  of 
new  and  more  perfect  forms,  and  the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction brought  about  by  the  invention  of  labor-saving  machinery. 
At  the  same  time  Mr.  Disston  made  it  a  matter  of  primary  con- 
sideration that  the  tools  of  his  manufacture  should  be  superior  in 
all  respects,  so  that  a  market  gained  was  never  lost :  there  was  a 
steady  advance  of  the  business  in  this  and  other  countries. 

The  works  at  Laurel  street,  where  the  steel  was  made,  and  the 
steel  parts  of  tools  manufactured,  until  their  removal  to  Tacony  in 
1*883,  cover  eight  acres  of  ground,  and  are  filled  with  machinery 
for  perfecting  the  process  of  manufacture  and  reducing  cost,  Mr. 
Disston's  inventive  skill  and  knowledge  of  what  was  needed 
enabled  him  to  devise  and  introduce  many  new  forms  of  teeth  for 
saws,  designed  for  special  kinds  of  work,  and  combination  tools 
which  are  so  useful  that  they  find  a  ready  sale,  particularly  in  new 
countries.  Previous  to  the  civil  war  it  was  customary  to  send 
back  to  England  all  the  scrap  or  waste  steel,  made  in  cutting  out 
saws,  for  the  purpose  of  having  it  remanufactured  into  sheets, 
which  were  then  reimported. 

This  told  so  heavily  against  the  American  manufacturer  that 
Mr.  Disston  about  that  time  commenced  to  make  waste  steel  into 
ingots,  which  he  caused  to  be  rolled  into  sheets  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  cheaper  quality  of  goods.  This  was  carried  on  very 
successfully,  and  the  works  have  produced  over  eighty  tons  of 
sheet  steel  per  week,  the  whole  of  it  being  consumed  in  the  estab- 
lishment. The  firm  also  makes  cane-knives,  trowels,  moulding- 
bits,  planing-knives,  cork  and  paper-cutting  knives,  moulders'  tools, 
and  similar  articles.  At  Tacony  there  are  branch  works  where 
files,  both  machine  and  hand-cut,  and  the  brass  work  and  wood 
work  for  the  other  tools  are  manufactured.  The  file-works  were 
established  originally  to  supply  the  saw-works  with  files,  but  a  de- 


120 


HENRY     DISSTON. 


mand  soon  sprang  up  for  them,  and  large  quantities  are  now  made 
for  the  general  market.  The  variety  of  the  manufactures  enabled 
the  firm  to  make  one  of  the  finest  and  most  valuable  displays  of 
steel  tools  in  the  Centennial  Exhibition.  The  magnitude  of  the 
works  in  1882  will  be  shown  by  the  following  figures: 

Twenty-one  thousand  tons  of  coal  were  consumed,  2,000,000 
feet  of  lumber  used,  4,000  tons  of  plate  and  sheet  steel  made  and 
worked  into  tools ;  besides  buying  450  tons  of  bar  steel  for  files, 
they  turned  out  1,692,000  single  saws,  3,810  large,  and  39,000 
small  circular  saws;  1,250,000  long  saws,  201,500  dozen  files,  be- 
sides large  quantities  of  miscellaneous  tools  made  in  the  jobbing 
department.  There  were  1,600  men  employed,  and  the  pay-roll 
reached  $17,800  per  week. 

Mr.  Disston,  fortunately  for  his  business,  had  five  sons,  who  all 
take  an  active  interest  in  the  business,  and  have  the  ambition  of 
their  father  to  make  the  concern  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the 
world.  The  business  was  in  1883  a  third  larger  than  in  the  foun- 
der's time.  The  growth  of  the  business,  brought  about  by  skill  irt 
invention,  strict  business  integrity,  and  persistence,  is  remarkable, 
when  one  considers  that  Disston's  saws  had  first  to  overcome  in 
the  home  market  a  strong  prejudice  in  favor  of  English  tools,  and 
then  to  compete  with  such  tools  in  foreign  markets.  Their  saws 
are  now  regularly  exported  to  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies,  and, 
indeed,  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Personally  Mr.  Disston  was  a 
man  to  whom  success  would  have  been  possible  in  any  department 
of  productive  industry  ;  practical  in  all  things  and  self-reliant,  he  also 
possessed  exceptional  executive  ability,  and  surrounded  himself 
with  men  calculated  to  fill  subordinate  positions  to  the  be.st  advan- 
tage. Hale,  hearty,  and  jovial,  he  was  always  popular ;  but  no 
one  thought  of  trifling  with  him  or  presuming  on  his  good  nature. 
He  exacted  fidelity  on  the  part  of  all  who  served  him,  but  was  so 
liberal  in  his  intercourse  with  his  workmen,  so  kind  and  con- 
siderate as  an  employer,  that  he  was  esteemed  and  beloved  by  all, 
and  looked  upon  as  a  personal  friend.  There  are  few  large  es- 


HENRY     DISSTON.  121 

tablishments  in  the  country  where  a  better  feeling  exists  between 
master  and  men,  or  where  less  is  thought  or  said  about  the  conflict 
of  capital  and  labor.  He  was  a  man  of  deep  religious  and  charit- 
able feeling,  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination,  and 
Oxford  Presbyterian  church,  Philadelphia,  and  his  large  gifts  aided 
much  in  founding  that  church;  however,  he  was  in  no  manner 
narrow  or  sectarian  in  his  gifts.  All  denominations  received  his 
material  support.  Poor  and  struggling  churches  ever  found  an 
open  purse,  and  manly,  Christian-like  sympathy.  The  various 
charities  of  his  own  particular  city  were  forwarded  by  his  interests 
and  means ;  he  supported  in  years  of  business  depression  a  soup- 
house  in  the  vicinity  of  his  factory.  Appeals  for  educational  and 
ch'aritable  work  in  all  sections  of  the  country  were  met  with  sin- 
cere and  substantial  responses.  He  was  a  member  of  St.  George's 
Society,  and  prominent  in  the  Masonic  Order.  Although  he  took 
no  active  part  in  politics,  his  political  sentiments  were  very  pro- 
nounced :  he  was  selected  by  the  Republican  party  as  an  elector 
in  the  Hayes  and  Wheeler  campaign. 

The  following  is  an  editorial  from  the  Public  Ledger  of  March 
1 8th,  1878: 

"Although  the  great  establishment  founded  by  Henry  Disston 
will  continue  to  occupy  the  front  rank  it  has  won  among  the  work- 
shops of  the  world,  it  is  still  a  serious  loss  to  Philadelphia  that  he 
is  no  longer  among  her  living  citizens.  The  death  of  a  man,  use- 
ful as  he  has  been,  in  what  is  generally  the  prime  vigor  of  man- 
hood, is  an  event  to  be  marked  by  universal  public  regret.  He 
was  one  of  the  men  whose  works  have  made  our  city  famous  for 
the  superiority  of  the  products  turned  out  from  our  work-shops, 
foundries,  factories  and  laboratories.  Wherever  the  Disston  saws 
have  been  carried  (and  that  is  everywhere  on  this  side  of  the  At- 
lantic, and  to  many  foreign  countries)  they  have  carried  the  name 
of  the  city  also,  and  their  good  name  as  the  best  products  of  the 
saw  manufacturers  of  the  world,  has  added  so  much  more  to  the 
high  credit  of  Philadelphia.  In  the  foreign  countries  to  which  the 
Disston  saws  have  made  their  way,  they  have  not  only  increased 


I22  HENRY     DISSTON. 

the  reputation  of  our  city,  but  have  contributed  largely  to  the 
credit  of  the  whole 'country;  they  were  not  only  Disston's  Phila- 
delphia saws,  but  they  were  Disston's  American  saws.  Henry 
Disston  was  a  born  mechanic,  in  the  comprehensive  meaning  of 
the  term.  He  had  the  faculty  of  observing  wherein  a  familiar  tool, 
or  implement,  or  machine  was  defective ;  the  genius  to  devise  the 
means  to  improve  it,  and  the  handicraft  skill  to  do  the  manual 
work  necessary  to  carry  his  own  device  into  effect.  He  had  other 
qualities  quite  as  essential  to  the  great  mechanic:  he  was  industri- 
ous, hopeful  and  persevering ;  confident  that  superiority  of  work- 
manship must  win  success  ;  confident  that  he  could  turn  out  supe- 
rior work,  and  resolute  in  the  endeavor  to  make  his  tools  the  best 
of  their  kind.  He  had  one  other  priceless  quality :  he  was  not 
above  doing  with  his  own  hands  any  of  the  labor  incident  to  his 
trade.  Without  these  qualities,  and  some  others  not  named,  such 
as  frugality  and  patience  in  his  early  struggles,  the  little  basement 
near  Second  and  Arch,  where  he  was  master,  journeyman,  appren- 
tice, laborer  and  salesman,  all  in  one,  would  never  have  bloomed 
and  fruited  into  the  world-renowned  works  at  Front  and  Laurel. 
They  were  the  open  secrets  of  the  success  of  Henry  Disston,  that 
made  his  career  one  of  inestimable  usefulness  and  value  to  his 
townsmen,  and  of  great  credit  to  his  country.  What  a  volume  of 
that  instruction  that  teaches  by  example  there  is  for  the  young 
mechanic  in  that  brief  recital  of  the  qualities  that  made  Henry 
Disston  successful,  famous  and  prosperous ;  that  made  him  an  in- 
valuable member  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  and  broadly 
useful  to  the  world  at  large  !  We  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Disston  in- 
dividually, apart  from  the  associates  and  partners  gathered  about 
him  as  a  nucleus  as  his  house  grew  in  importance.  Doubtless  he 
had  the  aid  in  recent  times  of  many  a  quick  eye,  ingenious  mind, 
and  skilled  hands,  for  he  was  the  sort  of  man  to  attract  these,  and 
to  train  them  up ;  but  his  was  the  devising  and  moving  power — 
the  creative  and  impelling  force.  When  he  came  to  the  close  of 
his  self-imposed  apprenticeship,  the  saw  manufacture,  especially  in 
this  country,  was  crude,  a  very  few  varieties  of  implements,  and 
none  of  them  of  superior  quality,  being  made  for  service  in  all 
kinds  of  work.  Under  his  guidance  the  manufacture  grew  into  a 
refined  system,  and  he  leaves  it  almost  an  art.  For  every  special 
service  a  saw  was  required  to  do,  in  the  advanced  work  of  modern 
mechanics,  he  devised  and  furnished  the  special  saw,  exactly  fitted 


HENRY     DISSTON.  123 

to  its  working  duty,  so  handy,  so  well  adapted,  so  completely  fin- 
ished, that  workmen  wondered  they  had  never  been  supplied  with 
such  obviously  essential  tools  before.  The  production  of  such 
work  will  go  on,  now  that  he  has  passed  away,  just  as  it  did  while 
he  was  living,  for  he  has  given  the  impulse,  shown  the  way,  and 
lighted  the  track  a  long  way  into  the  future.  It  is  among  the 
Providences  that  the  impulses  given  by  such  men  do  not  cease 
when  their  hands  are  stilled  by  death.  It  is  among'the  most  hon- 
orable things  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Disston,  that  he  had  the 
unwavering  good-will  of  his  workmen,  and  that  they  had  in  him 
a  friend  as  well  as  employer,  always  devoted  to  their  welfare ; 
always  interested  in  their  comfort,  health  and  happiness ;  always 
ready  with  his  kindly  words  of  cheer  and  encouragement.  They 
kne.w  that  the  prosperity  of  the  Disston  works  meant  good  wages 
for  them,  and  that  no  propositions  for  reduction  would  ever  come 
to  them  unless  he  was  under  the  compulsion  of  strict  necessity. 
These  things,  it  may  be  repeated,  are  among  the  most  honorable 
to  his  memory,  and  are  of  a  nature  to  add  to  the  deep  public  re- 
gret for  his  loss  by  death  in  what  might  have  been  the  prime  vigor 
of  his  years." 

Mr.  Disston  was  largely  interested  in  Atlantic  City,  owning  many 
cottages  there,  and  a  saw-mill,  employing  twenty  hands.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract  from  an  article  from  a  paper  of  that  place : 

"  Mr.  Disston,  dead,  has  just  begun  to  live  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  knew  him.  He  has  an  abiding  place  in  the  memory  of  those 
who  understood  the  man,  and  after  this  generation  shall  have 
moulded  into  the  common  dust  of  those  which  have  preceded  it, 
the  figure  of  this  representative  son  will  be  conspicuous  among 
the  line  of  great  American  master-mechanics  which  illuminate  the 
pages  of  history.  His  love  of  mankind  was  one  of  the  eccentric 
qualities  of  his  heart.  His  habits  were  industrious,  and  the  amount 
of  thought  and  labor  he  was  willing  and  capable  of  doing  was  pro- 
digious. His  active  mind  spurred  him  on  through  life,  and  gave 
him  little  respite.  He  excelled  in  force,  and  his  earnestness  was 
the  secret  of  his  power.  His  sturdy  arm  never  faltered,  and  his 
heart  never  failed.  The  lesson  taught  by  such  a  life  as  this  can- 
not fail  to  affect  the  youth  of  to-day." 


JAMES    C.  FLOOD. 

ONE  of  the  announcements  made  by  the  assessor  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, as  reported  in  the  daily  papers,  was  as  follows:  "James  C. 
Flood  has  been  assessed  for  $36,300,000  personal  property,"  be- 
sides $250,000  in  money ;  nothing  is  said  of  his  real  estate.  James 
C.  Flood,  it  may  be  easily  divined  from  this  statement,  was  one  of 
the  "  bonanza  kings."  He  was  then  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  we  do 
not  know  how  much  he  afterwards  added  to  the  above  enormous 
figures.  Mr.  Flood  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  about  1826. 
He  received  a  plain  common-school  education,  and  appeared  to 
prosper  very  well  on  that ;  indeed  it  is  surprising  to  find  how-  few 
of  the  California  millionaires  had  any  special  advantages  in  their 
early  youth.  How  his  time  was  occupied  between  his  school-days 
and  his  majority  has  not  transpired,  but  when  about  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  in  1849,  he  sailed  for  California  in  the  good  ship 
"  Elizabeth  Ellen,"  making  the  long  journey  around  the  Horn,  an 
adventurous  youth  without  money  or  connections  to  give  him  a 
start  in  the  new  land.  Like  nearly  all  the  adventurers  of  that 
period,  Mr.  Flood  had  troublous  times ;  had  his  disappointments 
and  failures,  and  plenty  of  hard  work ;  indeed  we  do  not  recall  the 
name  of  one  successful  miner,  who  had  not  to  go  through  a  longer 
or  shorter  period  of  probation,  in  which  their  courage  and  perse- 
verance was  severely  tried.  There  was  an  element  of  chance  as 
there  is  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  but  there  was  also  in  all  the  extra- 
ordinarily successful  Californians  a  strong  admixture  of  brains  and 
of  will  power ;  it  takes  brains  to  keep  money  as  well  as  to  get  it ; 
for  no  sooner  is  it  known  that  a  man  has  anything  to  lose,  than 
there  is  always  ready  an  unscrupulous  crowd  to  test  his  tenacity, 
and  by  skill  or  cunning  ever  striving  to  compel  him  to  loose  his 

Cl24) 


JAMES   C.    FLOOD. 


JAMES     C.    FLOOD.  125 

hold  of  the  treasure.  It  was  not  until  1854  that  we  find  Mr.  Flood 
emerging  from  obscurity,  and  becoming  known  in  financial  circles 
as  the  leading  partner  in  the  firm  of  Flood  &  O'Brien.  This  firm 
was  soon  deep  in  "  Kentuck,"  and  other  mines  on  the  Comstock, 
but  it  was  not  until  they  took  hold  of  the  Hale  &  Norcross  that 
the  public  heard  much  about  them.  They  took  the  most  out  of 
this  mine  in  a  few  months  (in  the  first  six  months  of  1875)  tnat 
has  ever  been  extracted  from  it  in  a  similar  period  of  time,  and 
created  for  it  a  fame  which  has  not  always  proved  so  beneficial 
to  their  successors ;  one  might  almost  say  that  mines  had  their 
caprices,  and  would  yield  under  one  set  of  hands  what  they  would 
not  surrender  to  another.  Flood  &  O'Brien  were  the  first 
borianza  kings,  and  it  may  be  said  of  them  that  they  shared  their 
increase  of  wealth  to  a  certain  extent  generously;  not  infrequently 
giving  away  "  points  "  to  poorer  friends,  which  they  might  have 
sold  to  speculators  had  they  so  chosen.  It  was  soon  after  this 
grand  strike  that  Mr.  Flood  projected  the  "  Nevada  Bank,"  located 
in  San  Francisco,  his  ambition  being  to  establish  it  on  such  a  firm 
and  substantial  basis  that  the  winds  and  waves  of  mercantile 
speculators  should  not  be  able,  under  any  circumstances,  to  pre- 
vail against  it.  The  status  of  this  bank  was  as  follows :  it  had  a 
paid-up  capital  of  $10,000,000  in  gold,  and  a  reserve  in  United 
States  bonds  of  $3,500,000.  The  Board  of  Directors  included  the 
names  of  the  three  bonanza  kings :  J.  C.  Flood,  James  G.  Fair  and 
John  W.  Mackay.  Its  circular  stated  that  it  had  special  facilities 
for  dealing  in  "  bullion  " — we  should  think  it  had ! 

It  was  after  finishing  the  immense  row  of  buildings  called  the 
"Nevada  Block,"  in  San  Francisco,  and. just  before  starting  the 
Nevada  Bank,  that  Flood  made  his  heavy  call  on  the  California 
Bank  which  led  to  its  suspension  and  incidentally  to  the  death  of 
William  C.  Ralston.  From  this  time  forward  Mr.  Flood's  popularity 
waned.  Ralston  had  been  so  much  a  favorite  that  none  of  those 
immediately  concerned  in  bringing  about  his  fatal  misfortune  were 
ever  quite  forgiven  by  the  people  of  the  city.  Indeed,  at  one  time 


I26  JAMES     C.    FLOOD. 

it  was  not  uncommon  in  certain  quarters  to  hear  threats  against 
Mr.  Fair's  person,  and  even  his  life.  The  Nevada  Bank  was 
looked  upon  by  many  as  an  intended  rival  of  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia and  not  a  legitimate  business  enterprise.  Certain  it  is  that 
after  the  catastrophe  of  Ralston's  sudden  death  Flood  ceased  to 
visit  his  old  haunts ;  he  rode  instead  of  walking  as  was  his  wont, 
and  generally  withdrew  himself  from  the  "  commonalty  "  who  were 
the  most  bitter  against  him,  as  they  had  been  the  most  prospered 
and  benefited  by  Ralston's  enterprise  and  generosity. 

Mr.  Flood  left  "one  fair  daughter  whom  he  loves  passing  well," 
and  as  she  is  rated  as  the  richest  heiress  in  California,  perhaps 
in  the  United  States,  fhere  is  of  course  much  interest  attached  to 
all  relating  to  her.  This  kind  of  publicity  is  not  at  all  agreeable 
to  the  young  lady,  who  is  of  a  modest  and  sensible  turn  of  mind,  a 
good,  unaffected  girl,  not  given  to  flourishing  in  diamonds,  or  in 
any  way  making  a  parade  of  her  wealth,  for  she  is  rich  in  her  own 
right  as  well  as  prospectively,  for  when  Mr.  Flood's  income  was  at 
its  zenith  from  the  bonanza  mines,  he  bought  $2,500,000  of  United 
States  4  per  cents.,  and  presented  them  to  Miss  Jennie.  Of  course 
all  sorts  of  stories  are  rife  on  the  Pacific  coast  regarding  her ;  at 
one  time  it  is  announced  that  she  is  about  to  take  the  veil,  and  to 
endow  the  convent  where  she  was  educated  with  her  fortune  ;  then 
again,  that  she  is  to  marry  this  one  or  that,  usually  without  the 
slightest  foundation.  One  of  the  most  persistent  of  these  tales 
was  to  the  effect  that  she  was  engaged  to  General  Grant's  second 
son,  Ulysses ;  and  many  romantic  incidents  were  manufactured  to 
tally  with  this  report,  but  the  plain  truth  appears  to  be  that  while 
the  General  and  Mr.  Flood  had  an  idea  that  it  would  be  a  suitable 
and  satisfactory  match,  the  young  people  had  other  views,  and  the 
project  came  to  naught:  Miss  Flood  has  hitherto  evinced  no  dis- 
position to  contract  matrimony ;  having  also,  it  is  said,  refused  an 
English  nobleman  (Lord  Beaumont)  who  recently  visited  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  was  smitten  with  her  charms,  or,  as  she  naturally 
feared,  with  her  long  bank-account.  Indeed,  the  California  heir- 


JAMES     C.     FLOOD.  127 

esses  must  run  uncommon  dangers  of  that  sort.  When  possible 
suitors  to  a  young  lady  have  an  opportunity  of  studying  the 
assessment  rolls  and  find  such  a  record  as  we  o-ive  below  attached 

& 

to  the  name  of  James  C.  Flood,  it  is  surely  enough  to  awaken  love, 
for  the  heiress,  even  in  the  most  unsusceptible  heart:  "James  C. 
Flood,  6,000  shares  Nevada  Bank,  $i, '200,000;  12,000  shares 
Pacific  Mill  and  Mining  Company,  $400,000;  250  shares  Pacific 
Wood,  Lumber  and  Flume  Company,  $30,000;  1,000  shares  San 
Francisco  Gaslight  stock,  $90,000;  937  shares  Golden  City  Chemi- 
cal Works,  $20,000 ;  3,000  shares  Virginia  and  Gold  Hill  Water 
Company,  $300,000 ;  47^  shares  Giant  Powder  Company,  $60,- 
ooo ;  649^  shares  Atlantic  Giant  Powder  Company,  $30,000; 
solvent  credit  money,  $250,000;  35,000  shares  Ophir  mine  stock, 
$1,000.000."  So  far  individual;  then  follows  J.  C.  Flood  &  Co. 
"  Controlling  interest  in  shares  of  stock  of  Yellow  Jacket,  Union 
Consolidated,  Scorpion,  Savage,  Ophir,  Occidental,  Hale  &  Nor- 
cross,  Gould  &  Curry,  Consolidated  Virginia,  California,  Best  & 
Belcher,  and  other  mining  companies,  $10,000,000 ;  money,  $500,- 
ooo."  Then,  in  addition,  James  C.  Flood  &  Co.  are  assessed  as 
trustees  of  J.  W.  Mackay  for  $20,572,500  in  personal  property, 
and  $750,000  in  money.  The  principal  items  are:  7,125  shares  in 
Nevada  Bank  stock,  worth  $1,450,000;  32,000  shares  Pacific  Mill 
and  Mining  Company,  $1,200,000;  mining  stocks  of  the  value  of 
$2,000,000,  namely,  39,570  shares  of  California;  64,110  shares  of 
Consolidated  Virginia;  14,718  Yellow  Jacket,  with  other  smaller 
lots.  Altogether  the  assessment  rolls  up  to  $36,300,000  personal 
property  and  $250,000  in  money  ;  a  very  pretty  fortune  for  a  man 
who  a  few  years  ago  was  keeping  a  little  restaurant  on  Washing- 
ton street,  in  San  Francisco. 

One  of  the  most  astonishing  things  about  Mr.  Flood  was  his 
memory,  or  rather  on  occasions  the  extraordinary  lack  of  it.  Some 
years  ago  Mr.  John  H.  Burk  sued  Mr.  Flood  to  recover  the 
value  of  certain  "  sluices  ".  and  "  tailings  "  on  some  of  the  Corn- 
stock  mines;  the  sum  claimed  was  $26,000,000;  in  that  circle  of 


128  JAMES    C.    FLOOD. 

financiers  they  seem  to  deal  in  nothing  less  than  millions.  In 
response  to  certain  questions  put  by  a  notary  to  Mr.  Flood  it 
appeared  by  his  answers  that  he  did  not  know  "  what  company 
milled  the  ores  of  the  Consolidated  Virginia  Company;  "  he  "did 
not  know  "  who  was  the  president  of  that  company  ;  he  "  thought 
he  was  himself  once,"  but  could  not  say  when ;  "  did  not  remem- 
ber "  the  names  of  any  of  the  officers  except  Fair  and  Mackay ; 
he  "did  not  know"  where  the  crude  bullion  from  his  own  mines 
were  sent  to  be  melted  into  bars ;  he  "  did  not  know  "  who  paid 
for  the  assaying  ;  "  did  not  know  "  how  much  was  worked,  or  "any- 
thing else  about  it;"  did  not  know  that  the  ore  was  weighed — 
understood  it  was ;  "  did  not  know  "  who  is  or  was  treasurer  of 
the  Mill  Company ;  he  might  himself  have  been,  and  "  might  be 
now,"  but  did  not  know ;  could  not  tell  what  the  profits  had  been, 
"not  even  approximately  within  $100  per  share"  of  what  he  had 
received,  and  many  other  questions  of  a  similar  nature,  to  all  of 
which  he  was  equally  oblivious. 

Mr.  Flood's  residence  on  Nob  Hill  was  a  $5,000,000  house, 
which  he  intended  should  eclipse  all  others  yet  erected  in  this 
country.  It  fairly  rivals  the  Vanderbilt  palaces  of  New  York. 
Mrs.  Flood  occupies  it  with  her  daughter  and  son,  James  L.  Flood, 
who  are  the  sole  inheritors  of  the  great  wealth  left  by  Mr.  Flood. 

Unlike  many  of  the  bonanza  kings,  Mr.  Flood  did  not  retire 
from  active  business  after  making  his  wealth ;  it  was  not  until  a 
year  before  he  died,  when,  assured  by  his  physicians  that  he  was 
the  victim  of  Bright's  disease,  that  he  settled  up  his  affairs,  and, 
accompanied  by  his  wife  and  daughter,  went  to  Homberg,  Ger- 
many, hoping  to  receive  benefit  from  the  waters.  He  died  on  the 
2ist  of  February,  1889,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  His  re- 
mains were  taken  back  to  California,  and  interred  in  the  beautiful 
cemetery  at  San  Francisco. 


ALEXANDER   GRAHAM    BELL. 

LESS  than  ten  years  ago  a  poor  Englishman,  living  in  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  commenced  experimenting  in  telegraphy,  and  find- 
ing out  accidentally  that  he  could  talk  over  the  wires,  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  turning  this  discovery  to  practical  account,  and 
the  result  was  "  the  Bell  Telephone."  The  first  public  experi- 
merit  made  with  this  instrument  was  before  the  students  of  Yale 
College,  in  the  large  hall  there.  It  proved  a  perfect  fiasco,  and 
the  audience  was  dismissed  with  the  best  apologies  which  could 
be  invented  for  the  failure,  and  a  promise  of  better  things  "  next 
time."  Some  trifling  alterations  were  made,  and  a  few  days  later 
an  exhibition  was  given  at  the  Opera  House  in  New  Haven,  with 
such  brilliant  success,  that  a  company  was  immediately  organized 
for  the  construction  and  locating  of  telephones.  The  first  ex- 
change established  had  only  eight  wires,  and  these  were  run  to 
private  houses  of  friends  of  the  enterprise.  It  was  not  then  antici- 
pated that  it  would  be  used  for  business  purposes,  but  rather  as  a 
sort  of  adult  plaything  between  friends  and  acquaintances.  At 
first,  instead  of  bells,  electric  buttons  were  used,  such  as  are  em- 
ployed for  signaling  servants  at  hotels.  The  interest  excited  by 
these  proceedings  in  New  Haven  was  very  great,  and  much 
enthusiasm  prevailed  in  that  bright  little  city ;  subscribers  began 
to  come  in,  while  the  reports  given  of  this  success  in  the  local 
papers  was  soon  spread  everywhere  abroad,  exciting  constant  in- 
quiry, and  stimulating  others  to  similar  experiments.  It  was  not 
long  before  the  original  eight  wires  had  increased  to  one  hundred. 
Still  it  had  not  been  applied  to  business  transactio.  s. 

At  last  the  idea  became  general  that  it  might  be  utilized  for 
other  purposes  than  mere  social  chatting,  and  subscribers  began 
9  (1*9) 


130  ALEXANDER     GRAHAM     BELL. 

to  pour  into  the  office  faster  than  the  company  could  put  up  the 
wires.  Then  other  cities  began  to  clamor  for  it.  First  came  Bos- 
ton and  Lowell,  thert  New  York,  Albany,  Troy  and  Chicago ;  in 
fact  there  was  no  longer  any  place  in  the  country  willing  to  wait 
for  the  wires  to  be  placed.  New  York  naturally  takes  the  lead  in 
the  use  of  the  telephone;  no  business  place  is  now  considered  fur- 
nished without  one ;  the  towns  and  villages  have  followed  the 
cities,  and  now  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  hamlet  anywhere  in  the  Mid- 
dle, Northern  or  Western  States  without  them.  There  has  pro- 
bably never  been  an  invention  of  any  kind  which  has  been  so 
cordially  and  promptly  adopted  by  a  whole  nation,  as  the  tele- 
phone ;  other  inventions  have  had  to  fight  their  way  by  slow 
degrees  into  public  favor ;  but  for  this  boon  every  one  stood  wait- 
ing with  open  hands — and  ears.  There  are  six  factories  in  the 
United  States  making  the  Bell  telephones,  and  all  over-crowded 
with  work ;  enough  orders  are  now  in  hand  to  occupy  the  present 
number  of  workmen  for  two  years.  Telephone  factories  have 
been  established  by  Mr.  Bell  in  England  and  France ;  they  are 
appreciated  to  a  certain  extent,  but  every  one  does  not  feel  it 
necessary  to  introduce  it  into  his  office  or  house,  as  do  our  Ameri- 
can people ;  the  Europeans  are  naturally  much  slower  in  accepting 
novelties,  no  matter  how  useful,  than  are  our  own  people. 

In  England  a  Mr.  Reis  discovered  the  electric  transmission  of 
speech  in  1 860-61.  The  late  Marshall  Jewell,  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
was  one  of  the  first  among  the  leading  men  of  the  State  to  invest 
money  in  the  Bell  telephone,  and  made  a  very  handsome  sum  of 
money  out  of  it ;  fifteen  per  cent,  was  paid  the  first  year,  when 
of  course  the  expenses  were  much  heavier  than  after  the  plant 
was  made,  and  the  profits  have  been  increasing  ever  since. 
Nearly  all  of  the  persons  connected  with  Mr.  Bell  have  become 
millionaires ;  one  of  these,  named  Coy,  has  given  up  his  interest 
in  the  Bell  telephone  and  joined  his  fortunes  to  the  United  States 
Telephone  Company;  but  he  made  a  million  dollars  first  in  the 
Bell  instrument.  Another  of  these  fortunate  men,  who  originally 


ALEXANDER    GRAHAM    BELL.  13! 

assisted  Mr.  Bell  in  his  experiments,  was  "an  old  gray-haired 
mechanic,"  who  had  a  little  shop  in  New  Haven,  a  maker  of  elec- 
trical instruments ;  he  was  of  great  use  to  Bell,  and  the  latter,  not 
unmindful  of  his  obligations  to  him,  appointed  him  first  General- 
Inspector  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  for  the  United  States ; 
and  old  Mr.  Watson  is  now  a  millionaire,  and  his  family  have 
made  the  grand  tour  of  Europe. 

Mr.  Bell  is  not  ungrateful.  It  is  said  that  the  true  principle  of 
his  telephone  was  first  realized  by  him  while  experimenting  with 
an  audiphone  for  his  wife. 

Mr.  Bell  is  about  thirty-six  years  of  age ;  he  has  a  decided  Eng- 
lish accent,  and  possesses  a  very  keen  eye,  indicative  of  cleverness 
and  great  energy.  Mr.  Edson,  the  United  States,  and  others 
have  either  introduced  improvements  on  the  invention  or  involved 
him  to  some  extent  in  litigation.  But  Mr.  Bell  would  not  be  a 
poor  man  if  he  never  planted  another  wire ;  he  is  worth  now  over 
$6,000,000. 


GEORGE   M.   PULLMAN. 

IT  might  be  an  interesting  question,  were  there  any  way  of 
solving  it,  to  ask  how  many  of  all  the  travellers  who  have  jour- 
neyed in  the  luxurious  Pullman  cars,  have  ever  thought  of  the 
inventor,  or  considered  what  manner  of  man  he  was  ?  Those  who 
have  heretofore  known  nothing  of  the  inventor  of  the  Pullman  car 
may  be  surprised  to  learn  that,  as  a  practical  philanthropist,  he 
stands  as  a  peer  of  any  man  in  the  United  States,  and  though  yet 
in  middle  life,  has  secured  an  immortality  of  fame  by  his  model 
city  on  the  plains  of  Illinois,  built  in  the  united  interests  of  capital 
and  labor. 

George  M.  Pullman  was  the  third  son  of  Mr.  Lewis  Pullman,  of 
Chautauqua  county,  New  York.  He  had  some  of  the  inventive 
faculty  since  displayed  by  his  son  George,  and  was  the  ingenious 
contriver  of  an  apparatus  for  removing  buildings,  which  gave  him 
a  somewhat  extended  reputation  in  Western  New  York.  Young 
George  made  his  first  essay  in  business  in  the  furniture  trade,  in 
the  town  of  Albion,  Orleans  county.  His  father  died  while  he  was 
still  a  minor,  and  as  there  were  younger  children  in  the  family  than 
himself,  he  had  to  share  with  his  elder  brothers  the  responsibility 
of  keeping  the  household  together  and  assisting  his  mother ;  he 
did  not  shirk  the  duty,  and  if  it  somewhat  delayed  his  ambitious 
projects,  the  discipline  of  patient  waiting  was  not  altogether  lost 
upon  him.  While  still  a  young  man,  George  Pullman  became 
connected  with  the  construction  works  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton 
Railroad.  During  1855-6  some  attempts  had  been  made  to  intro- 
duce so-called  sleeping-cars,  but  they  were  mostly  very  crude  and 
unsatisfactory  adaptations  of  the  ordinary  day-car  to  night  service. 
Mr.  Pullman's  attention  being  aroused  to  the  necessity  of  the 
(132) 


GEO    PULLMAN 


GEORGE     M.     PULLMAN". 


133 


travelling  public,  brought  his  inventive  faculties  to  bear  on  the 
construction  of  "sleepers" — cars  in  which  people  could  really  sleep. 
The  result  was  two  experimental  cars,  which  Mr.  Pullman  con- 
structed, and  which  were  put  upon  the  Chicago  and  Alton  road  in 
1859.  They  were  not  the  elegant  masterpieces  of  art  which  we 
find  all  over  the  country  to-day,  but  they  were  a  vast  improvement 
upon  anything  which  had  been  produced  previous  to  that  time. 
Soon  after  this  Mr.  Pullman  went  to  Colorado,  where  he  was 
engaged  for  several  years  in  mining  affairs ;  but  he  had  not  for- 
gotten his  pet  invention,  and  was  gratified  by  learning  that  his 
cars  had  proved  a  great  success  ;  but  in  the  interim  he  had  thought 
out  many  improvements  which  could  be  made  upon  those  early 
experiments,  and  when,  in  1863,  he  found  himself  able  to  give  his 
time  to  the  subject,  and  withal  had  secured  the  capital  to  carry 
out  his  ideas,  he  returned  to  Chicago,  and  took  up  the  sleeping- 
car  problem  with  renewed  interest,  and  the  determination  to  con- 
struct a  car  that  should  be  as  near  perfection  as  human  ingenuity 
could  devise,  and,  above  all,  adapted  to  long,  continuous  journeys. 
His  old  sleepers  were  on  the  road  until  1863,  at  which  time  the 
Pacific  Railroad  project  was  the  constant  theme  of  railroad  men, 
and  Mr.  Pullman  foresaw  that  the  time  was  fast  approaching  when 
thousands  of  travellers  would  be  demanding  accommodation  for  a 
continuous  journey  of  seven  or  eight  days ;  this  want  he  was  de- 
termined to  anticipate. 

To  plan  and  to  put  his  thoughts  into  action  were  nearly  simul- 
taneous movements  with  Mr.  Pullman ;  having  prepared  his  draw- 
ings and  models,  he  ordered  a  number  of  his  new  and  improved 
sleepers  to  be  constructed,  which  far  exceeded  in  convenience  and 
elegance  of  finish  anything  which  had  ever  appeared  in  the  shape 
of  a  railroad  car.  No  expense  was  spared.  The  only  question 
was  whether  such  an  expensive  description  of  car  would  pay; 
whether  there  were  enough  travellers  able  and  willing  to  pay  for 
the  luxury  of  home  comforts,  while  rolling  over  the  country  at 
the  rate  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  an  hour.  The  managers  of  the 


134 


GEORGE     M.     PULLMAN. 


various  roads  in  the  West  were  very  incredulous  on  this  point, 
but  it  was  Mr.  Pullman's  risk,  not  theirs,  and  they  could  afford  to 
smile  at  his  enthusiasm.  But  he  was  not  dismayed,  and,  more- 
over, succeeded  in  making  a  contract  with  the  "Chicago  &  Alton" 
and  with  the  "  Michigan  Central "  to  run  his  new  cars  on  those 
roads  for  the  period  of  ten  years.  The  managers  were  very  much 
astonished  at  the  great  popularity  which  these  cars  immediately 
attained,  and  after  the  opening  of  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific 
roads  Mr.  Pullman  found  that  his  construction  shops  were  unequal 
to  the  demand  for  the  "palace  cars."  'Shops  were  established  in 
other  cities  farther  east — for  of  course  the  eastern  roads  could  not 
allow  themselves  to  be  outdone  in  the  style  of  car  furnished  their 
patrons ;  and  the  Pullman  car  made  its  way  everywhere,  except 
where  contracts  already  existed  with  the  rival  line  of  the  "Wagner 
palace  cars."  The  first  new  shop  was  located  in  Detroit ;  then 
another  in  St.  Louis ;  in  Elmira ;  in  Philadelphia ;  and  then  cross- 
ing the  water,  construction  shops  were  planted  in  Derby,  England, 
and  at  Brindisi  in  Italy:  for  though  not  as  commonly  used  in 
Europe  as  here,  there  has  been  sufficient  demand  for  them  to 
justify  these  foreign  establishments.  The  American  demand 
has  steadily  increased,  so  that  several  of  the  shops  have  had  to  be 
enlarged;  that  in  Detroit  several  times,  until  the  year  1881  they 
turned  out  one  hundred  and  fourteen  cars. 

A  few  years  ago  Mr.  Pullman  conceived  the  idea  of  concen- 
trating this  increasing  business  in  one  central  position.  Instead 
of  establishing  new  sites,  all  of  which  could  not  of  course  come 
constantly  under  his  own  eye,  he  concluded  to  form  one  grand 
workshop,  with  space  enough  to  expand  to  any  amount  required, 
and  where  he  could  watch  the  operations  without  extended  journeys 
from  the  lake  cities  to  the  seaboard. 

Mr.  Pullman's  residence  was  and  is  in  Chicago ;  he  therefore 
naturally  looked. in  that  vicinity  for  a  location.  Within  the  city 
limits,  even  if  space  could  have  been  found,  it  was  obvious  that 
the  value  of  the  land  would  be  too  great  to  warrant  its  purchase 


GEORGE    M.    PULLMAN.  135 

for  the  purpose  intended.  Looking  southward  some  dozen  miles 
Mr.  Pullman  found  a  level  stretch  of  land,  low  and  swampy,  large 
enough  for  all  possible  expansion  of  his  factories,  and  which  was 
held  at  a  very  low  price.  Ordinary  speculators  had  looked  upon  it 
as  nearly  worthless,  but  Mr.  Pullman  saw  its  latent  possibilities, 
under  drainage  and  proper  treatment,  and  he  bought  enough  of 
this  land  to  build  a  city — for  this  was  his  ulterior  purpose.  The 
first  object  was  to  secure  ample  space  and  verge  enough  for  his 
gigantic  workshops ;  the  next  was  to  create  accommodations  for 
the  thousands  of  workmen  and  their  families  on  the  spot.  The 
land  he  had  selected,  now  called  "  Pullman  City,"  was  in  the  vicinity 
of  Lake  Calumet,  consisting  principally  of  pine  barrens  and  low, 
marshy  flats.  The  first  purchase  was  of  three  thousand  acres, 
and  on  this  he  set  hundreds  of  men  to  work  clearing  and  draining 
it ;  streets  were  laid  out ;  a  system  of  drainage  adopted ;  gas 
pipes  laid ;  the  streets  perfectly  graded  and  macadamized ;  trees 
planted,  etc.  A  sanitary  engineer  had  been  employed  to  oversee 
all  this  preliminary  work,  so  as  to  secure,  as  far  as  was  humanly 
possible,  the  future  healthfulness  of  the  place.  Then  came  the 
architects,  of  whom  Mr.  Beaman  of  New  York  was  selected  to 
lay  out  and  plan  the  buildings  for  the  whole  city,  an  opportunity 
which  has  happened  to  but  one  man  before  in  the  history  of  the 
country.  Naturally  the  workshops  received  the  first  attention,  and 
a  prime  object  was  to  separate  these  completely,  but  not  too  far, 
from  the  residences  yet  to  come.  A  broad  thoroughfare,  called 
the  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  street  Boulevard,  formed  the 
dividing  line ;  the  shops  being  north  and  the  private  houses  south 
of  this  grand  drive.  The  principal  workshops  consist  of  four  long 
buildings,  each  three  stories  in  height ;  the  central  one  having  a 
high  clock  tower — all  being  distant  from  each  other  about  seventy 
feet ;  this  partly  as  a  precaution  against  fire.  Beyond  these,  still 
to  the  north,  are  the  great  steam-heating  works;  the  hammer 
shops,  the  foundry,  the  electrotyping  works,  and  the  Allen  Paper 
Car-Wheel  Works.  In  this  section  is  also  situated  the  great 


!^6  GEORGE    M.    PULLMAN. 

lumber  depot  and  the  tall  water-tower,  from  whence  is  distributed 
pure,  clear  water  from  Lake  Michigan,  via  a  contract  with  the 
Hyde  Park  Water  Works  Company. 

In  this  direction,  but  nearer  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Calumet,  is  the 
gas-house.  While  these  centres  of  industry  were  being  erected 
hundreds  of  other  workmen  were  being  employed  in  the  erection 
of  homes  for  the  laborers,  and  mechanics  who  were  to  fill  these 
great  shops  as  soon  as  the  city  was  built.  Fourteen  hundred  and 
twenty-six  houses  were  put  up  before  any  man  was  asked  to  come 
to  Pullman  to  work  in  the  car-shops !  These  were  no  flimsy 
wooden  shanties,  but  neat,  substantial  brick  houses,  different  in 
size  and  finish — the  rents  ranging  from  $6.50  to  $65  per  month  ; 
the  average  rate  at  which  a  mechanic  with  a  family  could  secure 
a  nice,  comfortable  residence  was  about  $14  per  month;  and  the 
cheapest  of  these  have  plenty  of  air  and  light,  and  little  garden 
plots  to  cheer  the  eye  of  the  workman  as  he  returns  home  after 
his  day's  work. 

Mr.  Pullman  repudiates  the  idea  that  he  is  a  philanthropist,  and 
claims  that  in  laying  out  this  city  in  a  pleasant  style  he  has  operated 
simply  on  business  principles,  believing  that. men  do  not  prefer 
dirt  and  squalor  in  crowded  tenement  houses  if  they  can  live  in 
decency  and  self-respect  on  ordinary  wages  elsewhere. 

He  has  faith  in  the  influence  of  neat  and  pleasant  surroundings, 
and  has  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions  to  the  extent  of  laying 
out  millions  of  dollars  in  this  experiment  of  providing  good  and 
cheap  homes  for  his  employes.  He  argues  that  if  a  man  is  con- 
tented and  comfortable  in  his  home,  he  will  be  a  more  steady, 
contented,  reliable  workman ;  but  he  also  realizes  that  every 
human  being  needs  some  relief — some  change  from  the  monotony 
of  even  a  comfortable  home ;  people  want  some  form  of  recrea- 
tion and  social  intercourse,  some  refining  and  elevating  influences 
outside  of  the  workshop,  and  even  the  domestic  circle ;  hence, 
when  the  necessary  residences  were  built,  Mr.  Pullman  proceeded 
to  provide  reasonable  forms  of  recreation  for  the  inhabitants  of 


GEORGE    M.    PULLMAN.  137 

his  model  city.  Near  the  centre  of  the  town  is  an  open  park 
called  Arcade  Square,  on  the  west  side  of  which  is  the  grand  Ar- 
cade building,  which  cost  $25,000.  It  is  of  irregular  height,  but 
the  main  part  contains  two  and  a  half  stories.  It  is  built  of 
pressed  brick  and  stone,  with  bands  of  black  cement  forming  or- 
namental lines.  Through  the  centre,  running  north  and  south,  is 
an  arcade  twenty  feet  wide,  and  lighted  by  a  glass  sky-light  cover- 
ing the  entire  length  of  the  court.  Within,  on  the  lower  floor,  are 
some  thirty  large  retail  stores ;  the  post-office  occupying  a  central 
position  in  the  arcade  ;  this  main  courtway  is  always  dry  and  clean, 
being  paved  with  smooth  tiling.  On  the  second  floor  are  broad 
promenade  balconies,  at  one  point  opening  into  the  public  library. 
This  floor  also  accommodates  the  Pullman  City  Bank,  a  well-man- 
aged billiard-room,  the  office  of  the  city  architect,  and  some,  other 
offices.  The  bank  is  conducted,  like  all  else  in  this  place,  by  offi- 
cers selected  from  among  the  largest  stockholders  of  the  Pullman 
Car  Company:  it  has  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000,  and  includes  a 
"  savings "  department  for  the  benefit  of  workmen  and  others. 
The  library  now  contains  about  ten  thousand  volumes,  nearly  all 
the  gift  of  Mr.  Pullman  ;  this  fine  room  is  entered  from  the  arcade 
balcony  through  wide  double-closed  doors ;  the  finishing  of  the 
interior  and  the  furnishing  of  the  room  give  an  air  of  ease  and 
comfort  to  the  place  quite  inviting ;  large  easy  black  wicker-work 
chairs,  covered  with  plush,  six  large  chandeliers,  stained-glass 
transoms  to  the  ample  windows,  artistically  treated  walls  and  ceil- 
ings, files  of  papers  and  periodicals,  and  an  accommodating  lady 
librarian,  make  this  one  of  the  most  attractive  spots  in  Pullman. 

A  little  to  the  north  of  the  Arcade  Square  is  the  Hotel  Flor- 
ence, named  in  honor  of  Mr.  Pullman's  young  daughter.  This 
structure  faces  the  track  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  and  the 
handsome  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  street  Boulevard.  Mr. 
Pullman  rightly  judged  that  the  fame  of  his  novel  city  would  bring 
many  visitors  there,  and  he  meant  they  should  be  well  enough  ac- 
commodated not  to  wish  to  hurry  away.  The  material  of  which 


!38  GEORGE     M.    PULLMAN. 

this  hotel  is  built  is  similar  to  that  used  in  the  arcade :  the  interior 
is  mainly  finished  in  light  woods,  and  in  the  office  is  a  wide,  open 
fireplace,  giving  an  idea  of  home  comfort  and  a  generous  hospitality. 
This  hotel  contains  all  the  modern  appurtenances  and  conveniences 
of  the  best  hotels  of  the  country  ;  the  main  parlor  is  elegantly  and 
richly  furnished,  the  dining-room  is  very  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and 
there  are  seventy-five  great  chambers,  each  having  automatic  an- 
nunciators, fire-alarms,  hot  and  cold  water,  with  every  requisite  for 
comfort. 

South  of  the  arcade  building,  on  One  Hundred  and  Twelfth 
street,  are  the  headquarters  of  the  fire  department;  it  is,  like 
nearly  all  of  the  buildings  in  the  place,  of  brick,  and  is  built  in  a 
very  substantial  manner ;  it  has  stalls  for  eight  horses ;  the  truck- 
house  is  near  by,  where  the  chief  has  his  room,  and  the  firemen 
sleep  above  in  the  second  story.  Here  a  man-hole  is  cut,  and  on 
an  alarm  of  fire  the  men  instantly  slide  down  a  brass  rod  in  the 
most  approved  modern  style,  so  that  no  time  is  lost  or  risk  in- 
curred. The  health  and  safety  of  the  city  having  been  thus  pro- 
vided for,  with  homes  for  the  workmen,  Mr.  Pullman's  next 
thought  was  for  the  welfare  of  the  children  ;  he  therefore  caused 
the  erection  of  a  large  school-house,  three  stories  in  height — an 
attractive-looking  building  and  admirably  arranged  within.  Each 
floor  is  divided  into  four  large,  well-lit,  and  well-ventilated  rooms, 
with  dressing  and  cloak-rooms  attached  to  each  ;  everything  with- 
in is  light  and  cheerful,  and  the  stairs  are  unusually  substantial ; 
but  even  Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day,  and  with  all  Mr.  Pullman's 
good  intentions  and  prompt  despatch  of  business  this  department 
of  instruction  lacks  some  features  which  its  founder  intends  to  add 
as  soon  as  practicable.  In  addition  to  the  ordinary  school  routine 
Mr.  Pullman  intends  to  establish  an  industrial  and  polytechnic 
school,  where  the  practical  forms  of  trade  and  the  arts  may  be 
learned. 

Whether  a  new  building  will  be  erected  for  this  purpose  or 
whether  the  now  vacant,  but  large  and  commodious,  upper  stories 


GEORGE     M.    PULLMAN.  139 

of  the  great  water-tower  building-,  two  hundred  feet  high,  will  be 
utilized  for  the  purpose,  remains  to  be  decided.  When  providing 
for  the  whole  nature  of  man,  as  Mr.  Pullman  evidently  means  to 
do  in  his  "Arcadian  City,"  a  transition  from  the  provision  for  sec- 
ular and  intellectual  needs  to  the  religious  is  quite  in  order,  and 
has  not  been  overlooked  by  this  comprehensive  practical  philoso- 
pher. On  the  corner  of  Stephenson  and  One  Hundred  and 
Twelfth  streets  there  has  been  erected  a  beautiful  little  Gothic 
church.  To  distinguish  this  from  all  the  secular  buildings  great 
care  was  taken  to  select  a  suitable  and  beautiful  material :  for  this 
the  architect  imported  a  fine  greenish  serpentine  stone  from  the 
Pennsylvania  quarries,  the  tone  of  which  harmonizes  with,  instead 
of  neutralizing,  the  adjacent  buildings.  An  elegantly  shaped 
steeple  rises  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet  into  the  air,  and  in  this 
tower  the  liberal  spirit  of  Mr.  Pullman  has  placed  a  perfect  chime 
of  bells.  The  interior  of  this  edifice  is  worthy  of  the  purpose  to 
which  it  is  devoted ;  the  walls  are  tinted  in  soft  aesthetic  hues ;  the 
woodwork  is  of  highly  polished  oak,  and  on  the  southerly  end, 
opposite  the  pulpit,  is  a  very  large  circular  ornately  stained-glass 
window.  In  the  rear  of  the  pulpit  is  an  organ,  which  cost  $3,500. 
The  beautiful  parsonage  is  connected  with  the  church  by  an  artis- 
tic stone  causeway,  formed  by  a  series  of  arches  resting  on  solid 
stone  columns.  The  church,  including  the  organ,  cost  $48,500. 
This  ecclesiastical  ornament  to  the  city  was  not  built  to  forward 
any  sectarian  views  of  the  founder,  for  when  completed  the  church 
was  offered  to  whatever  denomination  was  in  majority,  or  in  fact 
to  any  organization  of  Christians  who  desired  to  hire  it. 

There  has  been  organized  among  the  young  men  of  Pullman  a 
military  association  called  the  Pullman  Home  Guards,  principally 
composed  of  Mr.  Pullman's  employes ;  there  is  also  an  athletic 
club,  a  bowling  and  cricket  club,  rowing  and  sailing  associations, 
in  all  of  which  Mr.  Pullman  has  been  an  efficient  aider.  Calumet 
Lake,  on  the  west  shore  of  which  the  city  lies,  is  a  piece  of  water 
about  three  miles  long  by  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  and  it  is  con- 


I^O  GEORGE     M.    PULLMAN. 

nected  with  Lake  Michigan  by  a  navigable  stream  called  the  Calu- 
met river,  and  dredging  has  already  commenced  for  deepening  the 
channel  for  the  admission  of  the  largest  lake  vessels.  Slip-docks 
are  also  among  the  improvements  of  the  lake  shore. 

It  is  impossible  to  notice  in  a  brief  sketch  like  this  all  the  points 
of  interest  concentrated  in  this  new  city  of  Pullman,  but  there  is 
one  object,  a  monster  engine,  which  cannot  be  ignored  by  any  one 
interested  in  mechanics  or  steam-power.  This  is  the  large  Cor- 
liss engine,  which  proved  the  great  centre  of  attraction  in  the 
mechanical  department  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadel- 
phia. It  was  transported  to  Pullman  in  sections,  occupying  thirty- 
five  freight  cars;  it  weighs  1,369,588  pounds,  and  has  a  capacity 
of  2,400  horse-power.  Its  main  driving'-shaft,  which  is  nine  inches 
in  diameter,  extends  600  feet  in  a  tunnel  constructed  for  it  under 
one  of*  the  principal  workshops,  and  moves,  by  the  aid  of  belts  and 
gear-wheels,  all  the  machinery  upon  the  three  floors  of  the  monster 
building. 

In  a  suburb  of  the  city,  called  North  Pullman,  is  the  great  iron- 
foundry  which,  with  its  750  workmen,  forms  almost  an  inde- 
pendent community;  these  works  can  turn  out  350  car-wheels  per 
day,  besides  seventy-five  tons  of  other  casting  required  in  the 
manufacture  of  cars  or  for  architectural  uses.  The  paper  car- 
wheel  works  are  more  curious,  because  more  of  a  novelty ;  the 
process  consists  of  compressing  by  hydraulic  force  coarse  brown- 
paper  pulp  (with  a  certain  percentage  of  wood-fibre  intermixed) 
to  the  density  and  solidity  of  boxwood.  These  wheels  are  then 
pressed  into  a  steel  tire  and  cross-bolted  with  iron  bolts ;  they  are 
said  to  wear  better  than  solid  iron,  and  are  used  exclusively  by 
the  Pullman  Company  for  their  palace-cars ;  the  capacity  of  the 
factory  is  about  1 2,000  wheels  annually. 

The  Pullman  Company  are  not  specially  engaged  in  the  con- 
struction of  palace-cars :  they  build  every  grade  of  car,  from  the 
ordinary  freight-car  to  the  most  elaborate  and  .beautifully  finished, 
every  part  of  the  work  being  made  from  raw  material  on  the  spot, 


GEORGE     M.     PULLMAN.  14! 

each  department  carrying  on  a  certain  part  of  the  work,  and  then 
transferring  it  to  another,  until  from  the  "  finishing-shop "  it 
emerges  a  perfectly  furnished  car,  ready  for  immediate  use  on  the 
rail. 

When  almost  everything  else  had  been  thought  of  to  make 
Pullman  an  attractive  place — when  circles  of  flowers  had  been 
planted  round  the  trees,  fountains  erected  in  Arcade  Square  and 
elsewhere,  schools,  library,  and  church  provided,  Mr.  Pullman 
decided  to  furnish  a  higher  grade  of  recreation  for  such  of  the 
community  as  craved  it,  more  intellectual  than  boat-clubs  or 
billiard-table.  There  was  yet  a  corner  of  the  arcade  building 
unappropriated.  The  west  wing  was  therefore  fitted  up  for  a 
theatre,  at  a  cost  of  $35,000.  It  has  a  seating  capacity  of  1,000. 
Mr.  Pullman,  through  his  general  manager,  maintains  a  degiee  of 
supervision  over  this  cosy  little  temple  of  dramatic  art,  and  care 
is  taken  that  nothing  in  tfie  slightest  degree  objectionable  to  man- 
ners or  morals  shall  be  put  upon  the  stage.  The  formal  opening 
took  place  upon  the  9th  of  January,  1883,  when  the  Hon.  Stewart 
L.  Woodford,  of  New  York,  made  an  eloquent  inaugural  address 
before  a  company  of  invited  guests  from  Chicago,  who  had  filled 
six  palace-cars,  composed  of  the  elite  of  the  great  city  of  the 
West. 

A  cardinal  point  in  Mr.  Pullman's  management  is  the  absence 
of  groggeries  in  Pullman ;  every  honest  tradesman  may  come  there 
who  has  anything  to  sell  which  will  nourish  or  clothe  the  body,  or 
furnish  reasonable  recreation  for  the  mind,  but  for  the  liquor- 
dealer  there  is  no  place.  Mr.  Pullman  has  more  faith  in  good, 
healthful  food,  and  enough  of  it  to  sustain  the  strength  of  laborers, 
than  in  artificial  stimulants,  and  he  says  he  wants  sober  workmen, 
who  alone  are  or  can  be  faithful,  and  he  rightly  judges  that  if  a 
man  fancies  that  he  needs  liquor,  he  will  be  apt  to  get  over  the 
habit  of  tippling  much  quicker  if  he  has  to  walk  several  miles  to 
get  liquor,  than  if  he  passed  a  saloon  every  time  he  came  to  or 
returned  from  his  work. 


142  GEORGE     M.     PULLMAN. 

It  has  been  asked :  "  Who  controls  this  city  of  seven  or  eight 
thousand  people?  There  is  no  corporate  government;  there 
are  no  policemen,  no  constables,  no  courts,  no  visible  form  of 
authority,  and  yet  these  people  a!4  live  orderly,  quietly,  honestly ; 
there  has  never  been  an  arrest  in  Pullman.  The  only  court  of 
appeal  is  George  M.  Pullman ;  but  apparently  there  are  no  appel- 
lants ;  everything  has  hitherto  worked  as  smoothly  as  in  a  well- 
ordered  family.  If  a  person  wants  to  go  there  to  live  he  applies 
to  the  superintendent  (appointed  by  Mr.  Pullman).  A  lease  is 
drawn  up,  which  may  be  cancelled  by  either  party  on  ten  days' 
notice,  and  he  will  not  be  disturbed  unless  he  attempts  to  sell 
liquor.  If  he  wishes  to  leave  he  has  only  to  give  his  ten  days' 
notice.  The  hotel  is  run  by  a  person  hired  by  Mr.  Pullman,  and 
in  fact  there  is  no  other  authority  there,  and  he  succeeds  because 
he  does  not  attempt  to  interfere  with  any  one's  rights;  there  are  no 
restrictions  (excepting  only  against  liquor),  the  people  are  indus- 
trious, are  promptly  paid  what  they  earn,  innocent  recreations  are 
encouraged,  and  every  workman  knows  that  there  is  not  another 
place  in  the  country  where  he  could  have  as  good  accommodation, 
and  the  benefit  of  so  many  privileges  for  his  money ;  and  there- 
fore he  is  satisfied  to  remain.  Mr.  Pullman  intends  shortly  to 
introduce  some  manufactures  suitable  for  the  employment  of  young 
girls  and  women;  in  fact,  we  have  not  seen  the  end  of  this 
remarkable  experiment,  or  of  Mr.  Pullman's  devices  for  the  benefit 
of  his  peculiarly  fortunate  work-people.  He  ought  to  be  a  happy 
man,  for  he  has  certainly  been  the  means  of  opening  up  a  life  of 
happiness  to  thousands.  He  resides  usually  in  a  truly  palatial 
residence  on  Eighteenth  street,  Chicago,  and  has  also  elegant 
summer  residences  on  the  St.  Lawrence  river  and  at  Long  Branch. 
His  fortune,  which  is  still  enlarging,  is  estimated  at  $20,000,000. 
Much  of  this  is  invested  in  the  Pullman  Car  Company,  but  his  real 
estate  is  also  very  considerable,  exclusive  of  the  new  city  we  have 
partially  described.  The  latest  quotation  of  Pullman  Car  stock 
was  115,  and  it  has  been  as  high  as  146.  In  January,  1884,  a 


GEORGE     M.     PULLMAN.  143 

quarterly  dividend  of  two  per  cent,  was  declared.  One  of  Mr. 
Pullman's  brothers,  Arthur  B.,  is  Vice-President  of  the  Pullman 
Palace-Car  Company,  and  his  eldest  brother  is  the  well-known 
and  very  popular  pastor,  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Pullman,  of  the  Second 
Universalist  Church  in  Baltimore,  and  his  brother,  James  M.,  is  the 
still  more  widely-known  and  highly-respected  pastor  of  the  Uni- 
versalist "Church  of  Our  Saviour,"  in  New  York  city;  another 
brother,  Frank  W.,  was,  previous  to  1880,  Assistant  District- 
Attorney  in  New  York  city,  where  the  mother  of  these  remarkably 
enterprising  sons  and  of  other  children  still  lives.  Certainly  the 
name  of  Pullman  is  destined  to  become  one  which  will  be  grate- 
fuHy  remembered  by  thousands  of  people  scattered  all  over  the 
United  States,  nowhere  more  so  than  in  Pullman  City,  Illinois. 


CYRUS  W.  FIELD. 

PROBABLY  no  name  of  any  living-  citizen  of  the  United  States 
(with  the  one  exception  of  General  Grant's)  is  better  known  in 
Europe  and  throughout  the  civilized  world  than  that  of  Cyrus 
West  Field.  As  the  most  active  projector  of  the  Atlantic  cable, 
this  name  has  become  the  synonym  of  all  that  is  enterprising,  auda- 
cious and  persevering  in  the  business  interests  of  two  hemispheres. 
His  fame  is  international,  as  was  the  great  work  over  which  he 
spent  over  twelve  years  of  his  life,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  which 
he  crossed  the  Atlantic  thirty  times. 

Mr.  Field  is  now  in  his  sixty-fifth  year,  having  been  born  in 
Stockbridge,  Massachusetts,  on  the  3Oth  of  November,  1819.  The 
family  have  produced  several  members  of  superior  capacity  and 
attainment.  His  father,  Rev.  David  Dudley  Field,  was  a  divine  of 
extended  reputation  in  and  beyond  his  own  State.  Cyrus  is  not 
the  only  one  of  seven  brothers  who  have  done  credit  to  the  train- 
ing of  the  paternal  clergyman  and  the  common  schools  of  Massa- 
chusetts. The  eldest  son  of  this  family,  named  for  his  father, 
David  Dudley,  is  the  eminent  lawyer  who  has  lately  been  a  con- 
spicuous figure  in  the  State  as  the  principal  compiler  of  the  "  new 
code  "  of  procedure  in  the  several  law  courts  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  Another  brother,  Stephen  Johnson  Field,  holds  the  honora- 
ble position  of  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  California,  his 
decisions  being  recognized  by  the  profession,  everywhere  through- 
out the  country,  as  those  of  a  careful,  clear-sighted  jurist.  Jonathan 
Edwards,  also  a  lawyer,  stands  at  the  head  of  the  bar  in  Stock- 
bridge  and  all  that  section  of  the  State  in  which  his  native  place 
is  located ;  he  has  also  been  a  senator  and  otherwise  taken  an 
active  part  in  politics.  Henry  adopted  his  father's  profession  ;  was 
(144) 


CYRUS  W.    FIELD. 


CYRUS    W.    FIELD.  145 

for  some  years  pastor  of  a  church  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  sub- 
sequently in  West  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  He  is  now  a 
doctor  of  divinity,  and  edits  a  well-known  religious  paper,  "  The 
Evangelist."  It  was  he  who  wrote  the  book  giving  a  full  and 
correct  history  of  the  Atlantic  cable  enterprise.  He  is  recognized 
as  a  man  of  marked  literary  ability.  Matthew  D.  became  a  civil 
engineer.  His  talents  are  recognized  both  in  political  and  busi- 
ness circles.  He  was  elected  to  the  State  senate  of  Massachusetts, 
representing  probably  as  intellectual  a  constituency  as  any  in  his 
State  outside  of  Boston.  As  a  legislator  and -a  practical  man  he 
has  been  equally  successful,  much  of  his  property  consisting  of  a 
valuable  lead  mine  in  the  vicinity  of  Trinity  Bay,  Newfoundland. 
One  of  the  brothers,  Timothy,  entered  the  United  States  Navy, 
but  was  unfortunately  lost  at  sea  while  still  a  midshipman. 

Cyrus  was  the  only  one  of  the  brothers  who  developed  a  taste 
for  mercantile  life;  but  this  he  had  early  resolved  upon.  In  1835, 
when  only  sixteen,  he  came  to  New  York,  and,  through  the  good 
offices  of  his  Brother  David  D.,  who  was  already  established  in  the 
city,  procured  a  situation  in  the  store  of  the  late  Alexander  T. 
Stewart,  to  whom  he  was  apprenticed,  as  was  the  custom  then.  He 
received  a  salary  of  two  dollars  per  week,  and  was  obliged  to  be 
first  at  the  store  in  the  morning  to  sweep  it  out.  He  continued 
with  Mr.  Stewart  until  near  his  majority ;  but,  not  being  particu- 
larly charmed  with  the  dry-goods  business,  he  returned  to  Massa- 
chusetts and  started  a  paper  manufactory  in  the  town  of  Westfield. 
This  was  in  1840,  and  he  was  not  yet  quite  of  age.  And  about 
this  time  he  also  married— a  Miss  Mary  Bryant  Stone,  of  Millfort, 
Connecticut.  He  continued  his  paper  factory  for  about  two  years, 
then  transferred  it  to  other  hands  and  proceeded  to  New  York  and 
opened  a  paper  warehouse.  This  did  not  prove  a  success,  and  in 
a  short  time  he  failed,  but  succeeded  in  effecting  a  compromise 
with  his  creditors,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  re-establish  the 
business.  His  experience  had  been  dearly  bought,  but  he  was  just 
the  man  to  profit  by  it.  Whatever  errors  he  had  made  in  his  first 

10 


^46  CYRUS    W.    FIELD. 

essay  he  now  retrieved ;  everything  prospered,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  dozen  years  he  had  realized  so  ample  a  fortune  that  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  retire  from  active  business,  not,  however,  before 
doing  justice  to  his  old  creditors,  who  had  so  generously  released 
him  from  all  legal  obligations.  To  each  of  these  he  sent  his  check 
for  the  full  amount  of  the  ancient  indebtedness,  and  then  giving 
up  the  business  into  the  hands  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Stone,  he 
enjoyed  the  first  months  of  his  release  from  work  in  a  pleasant 
and  romantic  journey  to  South  America  in  company  with  the  cele- 
brated landscape  artist,  Mr.  Frederick  Church.  The  route  they 
took  was  perfectly  unhackneyed.  Few  travellers,  and  those  mainly 
on  business,  have  directed  their  attention  to  Central  America  and 
the  great  continent  lying  south  of  it. 

Mr.  Field  first  visited  Carthagena,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Magda- 
lena  river,  then  .Houda  and  Bogota,  subsequently  crossing  the 
Andes  to  Quito,  and  from  thence  travelling  overland  to  Guaya- 
quil ;  from  whence  they  took  the  steamer  to  Panama,  crossed  the 
isthmus  to  Aspinwall,  returning  to  New  York,  after  an  absence  of 
six  months,  happily  in  time  to  participate  in  the  joyful  festivities  of 
his  parents'  golden  wedding. 

Scarcely  had  Mr.  Field  realized  that  he  was  at  home  again  than 
he  was  solicited  by  his  brother  Matthew,  the  engineer,  to  accord 
an  interview  to  Mr.  Frederick  N.  Gibson,  of  Newfoundland,  who 
had  conceived  a  plan  for  the  more  rapid  transmission  of  news  be- 
tween Europe  and  the  United  States.  Mr.  Field  was  at  first  very 
much  adverse  to  entangling  himself  with  new  business  projects, 
but  finally  consented  to  see  Mr.  Gibson.  The  plan  of  the  latter 
was  to  establish  telegraphic  communication  between  New  York 
and  London  via  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  from  the  latter  point 
despatching  swift  steamers  to  London  or  Liverpool,  which  were 
expected  to  make  the  voyage  in  five  or  six  days.  He  represented 
the  "Electric  Telegraph  Company  of  Newfoundland."  Mr.  Cyrus 
Field  listened  to  his  very  enthusiastic  visitor  with  close  attention, 
but  without  committing  himself  to  the  project.  But,  after  the 


CYRUS     W.    FIELD.  j  ^~j 

latter  had  left,  he  thought  the  matter  over,  took  out  his  maps  and 
charts,  consulted  the  large  globe  which  always  stood  in  his  study, 
^and  began  to  mentally  estimate  the  cost  and  difficulties  of  the 
plan,  when  suddenly,  as  if  by  an  external  inspiration,  the  idea  came 
to  him :  "  Instead  of  these  swift  steamers,  which  after  all  will  con- 
sume one  hundred  and  fifty  hours  in  the  voyage,  why  not  run  an 
electric  wire  through  the  ocean  itself — instead  of  ending  it  at  St. 
Johns  ?  "  This  thought,  he  says,  thrilled  through  him  like  a  verita- 
ble shock  of  electricity,  and  he  could  hardly  contain  himself  until 
he  had  sought  the  opinion  of  persons  more  practically  acquainted 
with  the  science  of  electricity,  and  with  the  conformation  of  the 
ocean-bed,  than  he  was  at  that  time. 

His  first  impulse  was  to  see  Prof.  Morse,  the  father  of  modern 
telegraphy,  and  to  get  his  opinion  upon  the  feasibility  of  transmit- 
ting the  electric  spark  for  so  great  a  distance  under  water ;  and 
almost  simultaneously  with  this  inquiry  did  he  seek  information 
from  Prof.  Maury,  then  of  the  Naval  Observatory  in  Washington, 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  ocean-bed,  to  the  keeping  of  which  the 
previous  wire  must  finally  be  committed.  From  both  he  received 
favorable  answers,  but  was  at  the  same  time  somewhat  surprised 
to  learn  that  the  idea  was  not  original  with  himself.  Lieutenant 
Maury  himself  had  already  broached  the  opinion  that  this  might 
be  done,  in  a  report  which  he  had  just  submitted  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy.  Being  thus  assured  by  the  best  authority  extant  of 
the  feasibility  of  the  plan,  he  became  thoroughly  interested  in  the 
project,  perceiving  at  a  glance  the  immense  benefit  which  would 
accrue  to  the  country  could  such  communication  be  established. 
Mr.  David  D.  Field  was  consulted  as  to  the  legal  questions  which 
might  arise,  and  finding  that  he,  too,  favored  the  idea,  Cyrus  W. 
resolved  at  once  to  try  and  interest  a  sufficient  number  of  capital- 
ists in  the  project  to  enable  the  company  to  make  a  practical 
beginning. 

Mr.  Field's  nearest  neighbor  was  the  amiable  and  benevolent 
Peter  Cooper,  a  man  capable  of  understanding  and  appreciating 


148  CYRUS    W.    FIELD. 

the  proposed  undertaking,  and  it  was  no  very  difficult  task  to  enlist 
his  sympathy  and  aid  for  the  Atlantic  cable.  A  company  was 
shortly  thereafter  formed,  consisting  of  Mr.  Peter  Cooper  (Presi- 
dent), Moses  Taylor,  Marshall  O.  Roberts,  Chandler  White  and 
Mr.  Field ;  and  subsequently  Mr.  Wilson  G.  Hunt.  Cyrus  Field's 
first  plan  had  been  to  try  and  enlist  ten  men,  who  should  each 
subscribe  $100,000,  but  these  not  coming  readily  forward,  Mr. 
Cooper  proposed  to  the  gentlemen  above  named  that  they  should 
make  up  the  sum  needed  among  themselves,  and  not  wait  for 
other  recruits;  these  agreed  to  put  in  the  money,  but  on  Mr.  Field 
fell  the  main  burden  of  the  work  to  be  done. 

First  in  order  was  the  purchase  of  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
the  moribund  Electric  Telegraph  Company,  with  the  consent  of  the 
legislature  of  Newfoundland,  which  was  negotiated  by  him  ;  the 
new  company  being  organized  in  May,  1854,  with  a  capital  of 
$1,500,000.  Two  brothers  of  Cyrus  Field  were  employed  by  the 
company;  David  D.  as  counsel  and  Matthew  as  constructive  en- 
gineer, for  the  building  of  the  land  line  through  Newfoundland  ; 
while  Cyrus  Field  took  upon  himself  the  mission  to  England  to 
order  the  construction  of  a  submarine  cable  which  was  required  to 
cross  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  Cape  Ray  and  the  island  of 
Cape  Breton,  in  the  direction  of  the  proposed  terminal  point  of  the 
Atlantic  cable — St.  Johns.  In  the  summer  of  1855  an  attempt  was 
made  to  lay  the  cable  manufactured  in  England  across  the  gulf, 
but  the  failure  was  complete,  as  it  slipped  from  the  control  of  the 
operator  and  was  lost.  Nothing  daunted,  another  was  procured, 
and  successfully  laid  the  next  season.  The  work  on  the  land,  in 
cutting  through  a  road  and  setting  up  telegraph  poles,  was  partic- 
ularly tedious  and  laborious.  Newfoundland  is  400  miles  across, 
and  nearly  the  whole  distance  was  then  in  its  primeval  condition, 
lakes,  streams,  morasses,  forests,  had  to  be  overcome  and  cleared, 
and  all  the  material  used  in  the  construction  had  to  be  brought  by 
boat  and  teams  from  St.  Johns.  Yet,  so  energetically  was  the 
work  pushed,  that  in  two  years  both  road  and  telegraph  line  was 


CYRUS    W.     FIELD. 


I49 


completed.  In  the  meanwhile  Mr.  Field  visited  England,  to  secure 
not  only  the  necessary  permission  to  occupy  British  territory  for 
the  termini  of  the  cable,  but  to  enlist  the  aid  and  co-operation  of 
the  government.  In  this  he  was  eminently  successful;  not  only 
was  capital  ready  to  invest,  but  the  cordial  sympathy  of  the  Queen 
and  her  councillors  was  accorded.  The  shares  of  money  which  it 
was  hoped  could  be  placed  in  England,  had  been  divided  into 
350  of  /i, ooo  each.  These  were  all  disposed  of  in  a  few  weeks ; 
London  took  101,  Liverpool  eighty-six,  Glasgow  thirty-seven, 
Manchester  twenty-eight,  and  other  places  the  balance.  Mr.  Field 
became  responsible  for  eighty-eight;  but  most  of  these  he  expected 
to  dispose  of  in  the  United  States. 

The  British  government  met  the  view  of  Mr.  Field  more  readily 
and  fully  than  even  his  sanguine  mind  had  anticipated.  Her 
Majesty's  advisers  agreed  to  provide  ships  not  only  for  surveying 
and  making  the  necessary  soundings,  but  also  to  assist  in  laying 
the  cable.  The  very  liberal  treaty  made  with  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph Company,  through  Mr.  Field's  negotiations,  contained  a 
clause  by  which  the  English  government  promised  to  pay  an  annual 
subsidy  of  ,£14,000  for  the  use  of  the  cable,  until  such  time  as  the 
company  should  be  able  to  pay  dividends  of  six  pounds  on  the 
hundred,  when  the  subsidy  be  reduced  to  /io,ooo  per  annum  for 
the  ensuing  twenty-five  years.  In  all  other  ways,  the  most  prac- 
tical assistance  was  offered  and  rendered  to  the  project. 

While  in  England,  Mr.  Field  consulted  with  John  W.  Brett,  who 
had  successfully  extended  the  submarine  cable  between  Dover  and 
Calais,  and  obtained  from  him  and  other  experienced  engineers 
and  electricians  many  valuable  suggestions.  Having  succeeded  so 
well  in  England,  and  made  a  contract  for  the  construction  of  the 
great  cable,  Mr.  Field  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  proceeded 
to  Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  enlisting  the  official  aid  of  the 
government.  Strange  to  say,  he  was  met  with  far  more  coldness 
than  in  England  ;  the  lobby  was  against  him.  The  bill  providing 
for  the  aid  of  the  government  only  passed  the  Senate  by  one  vote, 


JCQ  CYRUS     W.    FIELD. 

and  in  the  House  by  an  absurdly  small  majority;  but  passed  it 
was,  after  a  hard  fight,  and  received  the  signature  of  President 
Buchanan  on  the  3d  of  March,  1857. 

All  now  looked  prosperous  for  the  company,  and  Mr.  Field 
hurried  back  to  watch  over  the  completion  of  the  cable  and  its 
stowage  in  the  vessels  appointed  to  receive  it.  These  were  the 
United  States  ships  "  Niagara "  on  the  one  side,  and  the  "Aga- 
memnon," of  the  Royal  Navy,  on  the  other,  each  having  a. tender 
or  escort.  The  cable  had  been  made  in  two  sections ;  the 
"  Niagara  "  received  her  moiety  at  Liverpool,  the  "Agamemnon  " 
hers  at  London.  It  was  arranged  that  the  American  vessel  should 
lay  the  eastern  portion  and  the  English  the  western.  The  start- 
ing-point was  Valentia,  a  small  town  on  the  west  coast  of  Ireland, 
until  then  remaining  in  the  utmost  obscurity,  but  by  the  choice  of 
the  telegraph  company  brought  into  sudden  and  permanent  noto- 
riety. This  scientific  fleet  of  four  vessels  left  the  harbor  with  the 
precious  cable  aboard  on  the  6th  of  August,  1857.  Mr.  Field  was 
on  board  of  the  "  Niagara;"  the  shore  end  had  been  laid  the  pre- 
vious day.  Professor  Morse  and  other  electricians  accompanied 
Mr.  Field  to  watch  the  execution  of  the  enterprise.  How  is  it 
possible  to  describe  the  hopes,  fears  and  anxieties  of  that  little 
group  of  friends  ?  But  it  was  not  alone  Mr.  Field  and  the  scien- 
tists who  were  deeply  interested.  If  there  was  one  indifferent 
person  on  board  when  the  expedition  started  there  was  soon  none, 
from  the  commander  to  the  lowest  hand  employed  on  the  ship, 
that  did  not  become  participators  in  the  general  interest  for  the 
success  of  the  experiment ;  and  as  the  hours  and  days  wore  on, 
while  the  "  paying-out  machine "  kept  up  its  steady  revolutions, 
and  fathom  after  fathom  of  the  great  cable  passed  over  the  side 
of  the  "  Niagara "  and  slipped  into  the  silent  sea,  every  one  on 
board  began  to  feel  not  only  the  pressure  of  a  great  responsibility, 
but  a  sort  of  human  interest  in  the  cable  itself,  as  if  it  were  a  thing 
of  life,  which  was  thus  being  thrust  overboard  to  fulfil  its  destiny — 
a  consecrated  sacrifice  to  the  spirit  of  the  age.  An  eye-witness 


CYRUS     W.    FIELD.  15! 

on  the  "Niagara"  has  eloquently  described  the  feeling  of  subdued 
solemnity,  which  gradually  took  possession  of  the  whole  ship's 
company ;  and  when  the  great  calamity  came,  and  by  the  too  sud- 
den application  of  a  break  the  cable  snapped,  parted,  and  wholly 
disappeared  beneath  the  waves,  the  shock  was  almost  too  great 
for  the  firmest  nerves,  and  all  felt  as  if  a  cherished  comrade  had 
just  slipped  the  cable  of  life,  and  gone  to  make  his  grave  beneath 
the  deep  waters  until  the  sea  shall  give  up  its  dead. 

But  of  all  that  sad  company  Mr.  Field  was  the  least  dismayed; 
he  recognized  the  accident  as  simply  the  result  of  inexperience, 
and  as  in  no  way  militating  against  the  accepted  possibility  of  lay- 
ing an  ocean  cable — a  minor  detail  in  practice,  with  a  very  expen- 
sive result  indeed,  but  in  no  way  affecting  the  theory  of  the  scien- 
tists, and  not  a  necessary  or  inevitable  fault  likely  to  be  repeated. 
The  lateness  of  the  season,  however,  precluded  the  idea  of  repair- 
ing the  accident,  so  as  to  continue  the  work  for  that  year.  The 
fleet  returned  to  England,  and  Mr.  Field  immediately  gave  orders 
for  the  construction  of  seven  hundred  additional  miles  of  cable  to 
replace  what  was  lost.  It  was  easier  to  do  this  than  to  satisfy  the 
fears  of  some  of  the  more  timid  stockholders,  but  as  there  was  no 
one  ready  to  buy  Atlantic  telegraph  stock  on  the  heels  of  such  a 
disaster,  they  were  obliged  to  keep  it.  Mr.  Field  had  been  vice- 
president  of  the  company  for  some  time,  and  in  January,  1858,  he 
was  invited  by  the  directors  to  accept  the  position  of  general 
manager  with  a  salary  of  $5,000  per  annum.  He  accepted  the 
position  but  declined  the  salary. 

In  March  of  this  year  the  second  attempt  was  made  to  lay  the 
cable.  The  "  Niagara  "  was  once  more  despatched  to  England  to 
take  up  her  share  of  the  work,  but  this  time  without  her  tender, 
the  "  Susquehanna,"  nor  did  the  United  States  furnish  any  substi- 
tute. Mr.  Field  considered  the  presence  of  a  second  vessel  indis- 
pensable, but  there  being  no  prospect  of  his  obtaining  one  here,  he 
frankly  described  his  dilemma  to  the  lords  of  the  British  admiralty, 
who  consented  to  furnish  a  tender,  the  "  Valorous,"  as  a  consort 


152  CYRUS     W.    FIELD. 

to  the  "Niagara,"  in  addition  to  the  two  originally  furnished,  thus 
providing  three  out  of  the  four  vessels  engaged  in  the  work.  This 
was  the  more  appreciated  as  the  British  government  was  at  that 
time  in  need  of  transports,  and  was  chartering  them  to  send  troops 
to  Malta. 

The  telegraphic  fleet  was  once  more  started  for  mid-ocean ;  this 
time  leaving  Plymouth,  England,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1858,  first, 
however,  going  to  the  rough  waters  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay  to  try 
some  experiments.  During  all  this  time  Mr.  Field's  activity  ap- 
peared almost  to  exceed  the  bounds  of  human  endurance,  and 
seriously  alarmed  his  friends,  lest  he  and  the  new  experiment 
should  break  down  together.  Many  were  the  successive  twenty- 
four  hours  in  which  he  had  no  sleep,  except  such  naps  as  he  would 
catch  in  an  English  or  French  railway  car.  But  faith  in  the  final 
success  bore  him  up.  On  the  loth  of  June  the  work  of  relaying 
the  cable  commenced,  but  another  disappointment  was  in  store 
for  the  stockholders  and  Mr.  Field.  About  two  hundred  miles  of 
cable  had  been  safely  placed  on  old  ocean's  bed,  when  it  broke  as 
did  the  former  one,  and  once  more  the  labor  of  months  was  re- 
morselessly swallowed  up  by  the  sea.  The  defect  this  time 
appeared  to  be  in  the  construction  of  the  cable  itself,  as  it  was  re- 
paired several  times  and  finally  abandoned. 

Of  course  it  required  all  of  Mr.  Field's  eloquence  to  induce  the 
directors  to  make  another  essay  ;  he  himself  was  greatly  chagrined 
at  the  failure ;  but  he  still  saw  that  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome 
were  not  insurmountable,  and  that  perseverance  would  finally 
win.  Again  the  fleet  left  Queenstown,  on  the  i  ;th  July,  making 
their  rendezvous  in  mid-ocean  on  the  28th  ;  the  next  day  the  cables 
on  the  "Agamemnon  "  and  the  "  Niagara  "  were  spliced,,  and  the 
steamers  once  more  parted  company,  the  "Agamemnon  "  trailing 
her  share  of  the  cable  towards  Valentia,  the  "  Niagara  "  hers  to- 
wards Trinity  Bay.  Each  vessel  reached  its  destination  within  a 
few  hours  of  each  other  on  the  5th  of  August.  Signals  were  passed 
and  repassed  over  the  whole  length,  and  the  enterprise  seemed 


CYRUS     W.    FIELD. 


153 


finally  to  be  rewarded  with  success.  Messages  were  exchanged 
between  the  Queen  and  President  Buchanan  ;  general  rejoicings 
were  in  order ;  a  public  reception  was  given  to  Mr.  Fields.  The 
event  was  celebrated  in  New  York  and  other  cities  ;  and  for  nearly 
four  weeks  the  cable  worked  perfectly;  then  came  a  sudden  stop. 
On  the  ist  of  September  it  refused  to  respond,  and  the  general  disap- 
pointment was  as  great  as  the  elation  had  been,  and  probably  more 
extended,  as  many  thought  no  further  effort  would  ever  be  made. 
But  this  class  miscalculated  the  pertinacity  of  English  endurance 
and  the  irrepressibility  of  American  pluck. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  New  York,  a  gen- 
tleman present  presumed  to  assert  his  belief  that  the  cable  had 
never  worked.  Mr.  Cunard,  of  the  British  Steamship  line,  who  also 
happened  to  be  there,  immediately  arose  and  vehemently  denounced 
the  statement  as  false,  adding,  "  I  have  myself  sent  messages 
and  received  replies."  Only  one  or  two  others  besides  Mr.  Field 
retained  any  confidence  that  the  difficulties  of  ocean  telegraphy 
could  ever  be  overcome ;  but  Cyrus  W.  Field  knew  no  such  word 
as  "  fail."  Perceiving,  however,  that  he  could  not  under  the  cir- 
cumstances hope  to  obtain  additional  private  subscriptions,  he  ap- 
pealed once  more  to  the  British  government  to  come  to  the  rescue 
of  the  great  work  of  the  century.  And  although  their  own  "  Red 
Sea  Cable  "  had  recently  failed,  yet  they  agreed  to  aid  the  Atlan- 
tic Telegraph  Company  by  increasing  their  annual  subsidy  to  the 
large  figure  of  ,£20,000,  and  in  addition  to  guarantee  eight  per 
cent,  dividends  on  a  new  capital  of  ,£600,000  for  twenty-five  years. 
The  British  government  did  more  than  this :  it  sent  out  another 
vessel  to  take  more  exact  soundings,  and  to  explore  carefully 
the  ocean  bed  in  the  latitude  where  the  cable  was  to  lie,  and 
created  a  commission  of  scientific  men  to  examine  the  whole  sub- 
ject of  sub-marine  telegraphy  anew — including  the  construction 
of  the  cable  itself,  and  the  machinery  for  paying  it  out.  This  com- 
mission reported  that  the  enterprise  was  entirely  feasible  if  suffi- 
cient care  was  exercised  over  all  the  details  by  competent  persons. 


154  CYRUS     W.     FIELD. 

This  report  put  new  life  into  the  Board  of  Directors,  Mr.  Field 
all  the  time  working  to  that  end.  He  also  labored  to  popularize 
the  idea,  addressing  many  public  meetings  and  striving  to  interest 
capitalists  in  another  effort.  In  the  meantime,  the  outbreak  of  the 
civil  war  stopped  all  hope  of  enlisting  private  money  in  the 
work ;  here  the  United  States  government,  however,  as  the  war 
progressed,  became  more  alive  to  the  necessity  of  speedy  communi- 
cation with  Europe,  and  Mr.  Field  had  no  difficulty  in  securing 
from  President  Lincoln  the  promise  of  active  aid  in  this  important 
international  work.  Little  progress,  however,  was  made  until  1863, 
when  proposals  were  made  for  the  construction  of  a  new  cable; 
nearly  a  score  of  firms  put  in  bids  for  the  work,  which  was  finally 
awarded  to  Gloss,  Elliot  &  Co.,  of  London.  This  cable  was  com- 
pleted during  the  year  1864-5,  an<^  tne  sum  of  ,£600,000 .  was 
raised  for  the  company,  mainly  through  the  instrumentality  of  Mr. 
Field.  On  this  occasion  but  one  vessel  was  employed  to  bear 
the  cable — but  that  was  the  "  Great  Eastern." 

In  this  instance,  the  start  was  not  from  Valentia,  but  the  neigh- 
boring port  of  Foilhommerum  Bay.  It  was  on  the  23d  of  July, 
1865,  that  the  land  connection  was  made  and  the  great  ship  com- 
menced her  momentous  voyage,  bearing  more  vital  interests  than 
"  Caesar  and  his  fortunes."  Day  by  day  the  great  wheel  turned, 
and  fathom  after  fathom  of  the  new  cable  was  heavier  and  more 
carefully  insulated  than  its  predecessors,  slipped  overboard  into 
the  sea,  and  so  the  work  went  bravely  on  for  1 2,000  miles,  but  when 
approaching  Newfoundland  the  old  misfortune  recurred  ;  in  spite  of 
all  the  care  and  watchfulness,  it  broke  and  disappeared  under  the 
waves.  But  the  engineer  hoped  to  recover  it,  and  instead  of  imme- 
diately abandoning  the  work,  as  had  been  done  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances before,  it  was  decided  to  keep  the  vessel  in  the  course 
where  the  cable  had  sunk  and  grapple  for  it.  Grapnels  of  two 
miles  in  length  were  cast  overboard  and  several  times  caught  the 
cable  and  brought  it  nearly  to  the  surface,  and  when  it  seemed 
almost  within  reach  once  more,  the  great  strain  was  too  much  for  the 


CYRUS     \V.     FIELD.  155 

grapnels,  and  they  broke;  thus  after  striving  for  nearly  ten  days 
to  recover  the  cable,  and  seeing  that  this  could  not  be  done  with- 
out more  perfect  machinery,  the  spot  where  it  had  disappeared 
was  marked  with  buoys;  the  "Great  Eastern"  put  back  to  Eng- 
land, carrying  her  own  news  of  this  last  disaster.  It  was  deemed 
too  late  to  make  another  effort  that  season ;  once  more  additional 
funds  had  to  be  raised  and  faith  in  ultimate  success  created. 

This  time  it  was  thought  best  to  organize  an  entirely  new  com- 
pany to  be  called  the  Anglo-American  Telegraph  Company.  For 
some  reason  capitalists  appeared  more  ready  to  subscribe  than 
formerly;  but  Mr.  Field  showed  his  irrepressible  confidence  by 
taking  ,£10,000  worth  of  stock — the  whole  capital  being 
,£600,000.  This  new  company  made  an  agreement  with  the  old 
Atlantic  Cable  Company  to  furnish  a  new  cable,  and  to  lay  it 
during  the  summer  of  1860 ;  for  it  was  decided  not  only  to  try  and 
recover  the  old,  but  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure  by  providing 
a  second.  Of  course  with  every  experiment  thus  far  made,  some- 
thing new  had  been  learned,  and  in  July,  1866,  after  the  most 
elaborate  and  careful  preparation  of  the  vessel  and  machinery  to 
be  employed,  the  expedition  started  on  Friday  the  I3th,  the 
"  Great  Eastern  "  being  again  employed.  The  weather  was  favor- 
able ;  the  ship's  progress  was  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  miles  a  day,  while  the  length  of  cable  paid  out  was  thir- 
teen miles  in  excess  of  the  speed  of  the  vessel.  Captain  Ander- 
son of  the  "  Great  Eastern  "  had  so  arranged  the  departure  of  the 
expedition,  that  he  would  have  the  benefit  of  the  full  moon  as  they 
should  approach  soundings  off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland.  Every- 
thing this  time  had  worked  smoothly ;  as  the  voyage  drew  towards 
its  termination  the  anxiety  of  all  concerned  was  at  its  utmost  ten- 
sion ;  another  accident  would  have  seemed  too  much  for  human 
nature  to  bear.  Constant  communication  had  been  kept  up  with 
England  through  the  cable  from  day  to  day,  so  that  there  the 
company  and  the  community  were  kept  apprised  of  the  progress 
made,  but  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  all  was  in  doubt  and  dark- 


!56  CYRUS    W.    FIELD. 

ness,  and  the  most  sanguine  hardly  dared  to  hope.  It  was  known 
that  if  all  went  well  the  western  end  of  the  cable  would  be  landed 
at  Hearts  Content,  in  Newfoundland,  and  many  hoping,  yet  fear- 
ing, had  gone  there  from  various  parts  of  the  country  to  witness 
the  arrival  of  the  "Great  Eastern."  Some  had  been  there  for 
days  before  the  ship  could  reasonably  have  been  expected,  and 
since  the  25th  of  July  the  shore  had  been  fringed  with  visitors, 
opera,  marine  or  common  spy-glass  in  hand,  watching  the  eastern 
horizon  for  the  anxiously  awaited  steamer.  Many  were  the  false 
alarms  raised  as  some  moving  speck  was  descried  in  the  distance: 
an  illusive  coaster  or  some  other  westward-bound  vessel.  Four- 
teen days  more  away;  it  is  again  Friday  morning,  the  2/th  day  of 
July,  1866.  Here  at  last  she  comes !  early  in  the  morning:  her  im- 
mense proportions,  when  she  at  last  appears,  make  the  gazers 
wonder  how  they  could  have  mistaken  any  other  craft  for  her.  As 
she  draws  nearer  the  people  see  that  her  colors  are  all  set, 
which  at  least  indicates  that  they  have  met  with  no  disaster. 
With  every  mile's  advance  of  the  steamer  the  excitement  grew. 
Too  impatient  to  wait  the  arrival,  scores  of  boats  put  off  to  row 
toward  her.  The  tender,  the  "Albany,"  is  in  the  van  ;  the  "  Terri- 
ble "  close  behind,  while  the  "  Midway  "  keeps  close  to  the  "  Great 
Eastern,"  and  a  delay  of  nearly  two  hours  occurs  while  the  latter 
connects  the  heavy  shore  end  with  the  main  cable,  and  at  last  the 
two  continents  are  united.  Still  New  York  and  Washington  knew 
nothing  of  all  this ;  unfortunately  the  cable  across  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  was  disabled,  and  it  was  not  until  Sunday,  the  29th,  that 
this  was  repaired,  and  the  heart-cheering  intelligence  announced 
to  the  nation,  by  Cyrus  Field,  the  accomplishment  of  his  and  their 
great  hopes  !  This  was  the  first  message : 

"Hearts  Content,  July  2 yth.  We  arrived  here  at  nine  o'clock 
this  morning.  All  well.  Thank  God,  the  cable  is  laid,  and  is  in 
perfect  working  order.  Cyrus  W.  Field." 

Almost  immediately  the  "  Great  Eastern  "  again  put  to  sea,  and, 
proceeding  to  where  the  cable  of  1865  had  been  lost,  succeeded 


CYRUS     W.    FIELD. 


157 


without  much  trouble  in  grappling  it  and  bringing  it  to  the  sur- 
face. It  was  tested  by  sending  a  message  to  Valentia ;  and  being 
found  perfect  was  spliced  to  an  additional  section,  which  was 
brought  to  Newfoundland,  and  both  of  these  cables  have  been  in 
constant  use  to  the  present  time. 

If  ever  a  man  needed  and  deserved  a  rest  that  man  was  Cyrus 
W.  Field.  For  thirteen  years  he  had  borne  the  brunt  of  all  the 
sneers,  and  jokes,  and  doubts  in  good  faith,  which  had  assailed  the 
enterprise.  Other  persons  had  their  share  in  the  great  work. 
Every  capitalist  who  bought  a  share  of  the  stock  should  have  his 
praise.  The  English  manufacturers  of  the  cable  itself,  and 
machinery,  did  their  utmost  to  deserve  success.  The  British  gov- 
ernment did  nobly,  in  aiding  the  enterprise  with  subsidies  and 
ships,  and  a  few  staunch  friends  like  Peter  Cooper  and  Marshall 
O.  Roberts  helped  to  sustain  the  courage  of  the  more  faithless ; 
but  it  looked  many  times  through  those  thirteen  years  of  struggle, 
that  had  it  not  been  for  the  unflagging  courage  and  indomitable 
perseverance  of  Cyrus  West  Field,  that  the  project  would  have 
been  abandoned. 

The  interest  of  Mr.  Field  has  never  ceased  in  all  that  relates  to 
this  greatest  work  of  the  century.  But  some  years  ago  he  deter- 
mined to  leave  for  a  while  the  distracting  cares  of  his  occidental 
existence,  and  sojourn  for  a.  time  amid  the  more  soothing  and 
reposeful  scenes  of  the  Orient.  Crossing  the  continent  to  San 
Francisco,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  he  took  passage  to  Yoko- 
hama ;  much  to  his  disgust  there  was  no  line  of  American  steam- 

o 

ers,  and  he  was  obliged  to  sail  under  the  British  flag.  This,  as  is 
well  known,  was  not  per  se  any  hardship  to  Mr.  Field,  but  the  fact 
brought  to  his  mind  more  forcibly  than  pleasantly  the  terrible 
decadence  of  our  mercantile  marine  through  a  false  and  suicidal 
legislation  policy.  As  he  progressed  in  his  journey,  the  impres- 
sion made  in  this  respect  was  still  deepened.  He  travelled  on 
seven  English  steamers,  two  French,  one  Japanese  and  one 
Chinese ;  but  nowhere  had  the  pleasure  of  sailing  in  foreign  seas 
under  the  United  States  flag. 


158  CYRUS     W.    FIELD. 

Mr.  Field  liked  to  talk  of  this  trip  and  describe  the  novel  scenes 
he  had  passed  through.  One  Japanese  gentleman  whom  he  visited 
introduced  him  to  three  of  his  wives  and  made  tea  for  him  in  a 
golden  tea-kettle.  He  was  much  pleased,  as  all  travellers  are,  with 
the  natural  beauties  of  Japan — the  volcanic  mountains  and  lovely 
groves,  the  latter  of  which  are  cultivated  and  highly  appreciated 
by  the  natives,  much  space  being  given  up  to  these  forest  growths 
even  in  the  cities.  The  water-population  of  China,  who  know  no 
firmer  dwelling-place  than  their  boats,  and  have  so  lived  for  suc- 
cessive generations,  is  a  never-ending  attraction,  and  to  Mr.  Field 
the  extreme  cleanliness  of  the  large,  densely-populated  city  of 
Canton  was  almost  as  great  a  surprise,  since  sewers  are  unknown. 
Neither  at  that  time  had  it  any  telegraphic  communication  with  the 
rest  of  the  kingdom  or  the  world,  and  Mr.  Field  felt  this  the  more, 
since  for  so  many  years  telegraphic  process  had  formed  the  staple 
of  his  thoughts  by  day  and  his  dreams  by  night.  Turning  west- 
ward from  China,  he  entered  the  charmed  land  of  India,  the  cradle 
of  the  Aryan  race,  the  land  of  myth  and  fable,  of  Buddha  temples, 
of  holy  cities,  of  historic  and  sacred  legend.  At  the  sacred  city 
of  Benares,  whose  marbled  steps  are  washed  by  the  consecrated 
waters  of  the  Ganges,  Mr.  Field  visited  the  rajah  by  special  invita- 
tion, where  he  learned  much  not  usually  attainable  by  western 
travellers.  Near  Bombay  he  had  .an  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
Tower  of  Silence,  where,  according  to  Parsee  custom,  their  dead 
are  exposed  to  the  elements  and  to  the  attack  of  birds  of  prey 
until  the  flesh  is  all  consumed,  leaving  nothing  bleaching  in  the 
sun  but  the  ghastly  skeletons. 

Mr.  Field  passed  through  the  seven-fold  heated  Red  Sea  in 
March,  visited  Egypt,  and  then  many  European  cities,  of  which 
Naples  seems  to  have  made  the  deepest  impression,  and,  after 
nearly  a  year's  absence,  turned  his  face  homeward,  not  failing  on 
his  arrival  in  New  York  to  express  his  indignation  at  the  practice 
of  the  custom-house  officials,  who  first  exacted  a  statement  from 
him  on  oath  that  he  "  had  not  any  dutiable  goods,"  and  then  pro- 


CYRUS     W.    FIELD.  jrg 

ceeded  to  search  his  baggage,  as  if  it  was  reasonable  to  presume 
r  that  he  had  committed  perjury! 

Since  those  days  of  recreation  Mr.  Field  has  entered  largely 
into  enterprises  of  a  municipal  nature,  being  identified  with  the 
system  of  elevated  railroads  in  the  city  of  New  York,  particularly 
the  Third  avenue  line.  Some  few  years  ago  (1879  to  1880)  he 
undertook  to  erect  upon  his  own  land  a  monument  to  the  memory 
of  Adjutant-General  John  Andre,  of  the  British  army,  who  was 
employed  to  negotiate  the  treason  of  Benedict  Arnold  in  the 
matter  of  surrendering  West  Point  to  the  enemy.  Andre  was 
seized  as  a  spy,  being  captured  on  ground  near  Tarrytow.n,  now  a 
part  of  Mr.  Field's  estate.  The  monument  bore  an  inscription 
written  by  the  late  Dean  Stanley,  of  England,  and  some  compli- 
mentary and  sympathetic  words  uttered  by  General  Washington 
while  condemning  the  young  officer  to  death.  That  the  historical 
spot  should  be  rescued  from  oblivion  by  a  monument  of  some  sort 
is  readily  conceded,  but  the  majority  of  Mr.  Field's  fellow-citizens 
objected  to  the  dedication  of  a  national  memorial  to  an  enemy  and 
the  result  was  that,  shortly  after  its  completion,  on  February  25th, 
1 88 1,  the  monument  was  mutilated  by  zealous  patriotic  hands,  and 
again,  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  it  was  repaired,  but  uselessly. 
In  April  it  was  again  defaced,  and  so  seriously  that  Mr.  Field  be- 
came convinced  that  it  would  prove  a  very  Ixion's  task  to  repair 
damages,  and  has,  we  believe,  given  up  the  attempt.  The  only 
plausible  explanation  of  this  anti-American  fancy  in  the  choice  of  a 
hero  is,  we  think,  to  be  found  in  Mr.  Field's  unbounded  gratitude 
to  the  English  government  for  their  abundant  and  timely  assist- 
ance in  the  matter  of  laying  the  Atlantic  cable,  a  fact  fully  recog- 
nized in  these  pages,  but  which,  it  is  quite  certain,  would  never  have 
been  rendered  had  not  British  capital  foreseen  the  profit  in  it. 

Mr.  Field's  latest  attitude  before  the  public  is  as  a  director  of 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company.  His  later  years  are 
crowned  with  wealth  and  honor,  and  he  lives  in  the  enjoyment  of 
all  that  his  heart  desires  and  his  active  intellect  requires. 


THOMAS  A.  SCOTT. 

THE  subject  of  this  biography,  Thomas  Alexander  Scott,  was 
born  in  London,  Franklin  county,  Penna.,  on  December  24th,  1823. 
That  place,  then  a  straggling  village  numbering  three  hundred 
souls,  is  situated  midway  the  length  of  the  State,  and  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Maryland.  The  main  road  through  London  intersects  a 
broad,  limestone  valley,  pleasant,  smiling  and  fertile.  On  the  east, 
South  mountain  casts'  its  shadow,  like  the  hand  of  a  dial,  athwart 
the  valley ;  while  on  the  north,  Cove  mountain  rears  its  bold  head 
1,500  feet  into  the  air. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  write,  the  rush  and  clang  of  no  railway 
brought  traffic  into  this  peaceful  scene,  but  all  freight  was  trans- 
ported by  heavy  Conestoga  wagons,  many  of  which  were  made  in 
London,  and  which  cumbrously  threaded  their  way  between  the 
great  commercial  centres  of  the  country.  Here  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  our  sketch  kept  the  chief  inn  of  the  village,  a  place 
greatly  frequented  by  teamsters.  The  elder  Thomas  Scott  was 
of  a  strong  Scotch-Irish  stock  that  came  originally  from  Donegal, 
a  stock  which  gives  pluck,  energy  and  hardihood. 

Amid  these  rustic  scenes  the  boy  first  looked  on  life,  and  Long- 
fellow might  easily  have  taken  this  early  home  for  the  motive  of 
his  prelude  to  the  "Wayside  Inn :" 

"A  region  of  repose  it  seems, 
A  place  of  slumber  and  of  dreams, 
Remote  among  the  wooded  hills ! 
For  there  no  noisy  railway  speeds 
Its  torch-race,  scattering  smoke  and  gleeds; 
But  noon  and  night  the  panting  teams 
Stop  under  the  great  oaks  that  throw 
Tangles  of  light  and  shade  below, 

On  roofs,  and  doors  a/id  window-sills. 
(160) 


THOMAS  A.  SCOTT. 


THOMAS    A.    SCOTT.  l6l 


Across  the  road  the  barns  display 
Their  lines  of  stalls,  their  mows  of  hay, 
Through  their  wide  doors  the  breezes  blow, 
The  wattled  cocks  strut  to  and  fro, 
And  half  effaced  by  rain  and  shine 
Swings  on  its  post  the  creaking  sign." 


' 


And  so  our  hero  was  merely  the  chore  boy  of  the  wayside  inn, 
running  this  way  and  that,  simply  clad  in  rustic  garb,  a  fair-haired, 
agile  child.  During  the  four  or  five  winters  before  he  was  ten 
years  of  age,  young  Aleck,  as  he  was  then  called,  attended  the 
village  school.  This  was  the  only  opportunity  for  regular  instruc- 
tion that  he  ever  received.  But,  in  the  larger,  truer  sense,  his  en- 
tire career  was  a  school  for  the  unfolding  of  manly  and  executive 
faculties.  Not  only  the  experience  with  men  and  affairs,  the  exer- 
cise of  cool  judgment,  the  necessity  of  observing  and  deriding 
instantaneously,  but  the  comprehensive  grasp  of  a  multitude  of 
subjects,  the  forecasting  of  a  variety  of  consequences,  and  the  in- 
sight into  the  best  methods  of  developing  material  resources,  all 
formed  the  means  for  a  continuous  training  such  as  books  alone 
can  never  give. 

When  the  youth  was  ten  years  of  age,  a  great  sorrow  came 
upon  the  little  household.  The  father  died,  leaving  Aleck  one  of 
five  children,  and  but  limited  provision  for  them  and  their  mother. 
Young  as  he  was  a  plunge  into  the  great  world  was  inevitable — 
that  world  in  which  he  was  born  to  be  a  leader. 

For  a  short  time  only  he  became  a  driver  on  the  State  Canal, 
near  his  home ;  a  .position  which  he  soon  left  for  a  clerkship  in  a 
country  store  near  Waynesboro.  From  here  he  went,  in  the  same 
capacity,  soon  afterward,  to  Bridgeport,  and  afterward  to  Mercers- 
burg.  Evidently  he  had  not  found  his  true  place.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  a  new  career  opened  before  the  aspiring,  industrious 
young  man.  At  that  date  a  system  of  State  transportation  ex- 
tended from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh,  partly  by  means  of  a  canal 
and  partly  by  a  primitive  portage  railroad.  This  system  required 
three  collectors  of  tolls,  and  one  of  these  a  certain  Major  James 


1 62  THOMAS     A.    SCOTT. 

Patton  secured.  As  this  same  Major  Patton  had  previously  mar- 
ried an  elder  sister  of  Aleck,  it  was  only  natural  that  the  young 
man  should  obtain  a  clerkship  in  the  then  important  office.  It  was 
an  onerous  position  for  one  so  youthful,  and  great  complaints  were 
made  in  consequence :  before  the  incumbent  had  been  tried,  not 
after.  All  who  had  business  to  transact  found  him  prompt,  ener- 
getic, courteous,  and  faithful.  He  was  an  expert  in  accounts,  sur- 
passing his  fellow-clerks  in  capacity  of  accomplishing  business  on 
hand,  while  the  genial  kindliness  of  his  nature  made  all  men  his 
friends.  With  an  immense  fund  of  vitality,  a  frolicsome,  sparkling 
disposition,  and  a  great  fondness  for  social  life,  the  youth's  strength 
seemed  exhaustless.  He  never  flagged.  After  the  primitive 
merry-makings  of  the  country,  lasting  till  early  dawn,  he  would 
take  a  single  hour's  rest,  and  then  be  at  his  post,  ready  for  work, 
and  good  work,  too. 

All  that  time  Aleck  was  rosy-cheeked,  dashing,  and  handsome, 
winning  friends  and  deserving  them.  But  he  never  forgot  his  du- 
ties and  responsibilities.  As  a  proof  of  the  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held,  when,  by  change  of  administration  in  1841,  his  brother- 
in-law  went  out  of  office,  the  successor  raised  young  Scott  to  the 
position  of  chief-clerk,  with  what  was  then  the  large  salary  of 
forty-five  dollars  per  month. 

But  it  did  not  suit  this  restless  young  man  to  be  always  a  clerk  ; 
he  had  met  a  young  lady  who  had  permanently  enlisted  his  affec- 
tions, and  he  wanted  to  be  independent.  Accordingly  his  former 
employer,  Dr.  Ginew,  and  Aleck  Scott,  formed  a  partnership  to 
start  a  saw-mill  at  Columbia,  Pennsylvania.  Having  procured  a 
contract  from  the  State  to  furnish  lumber  for  public  work,  they 
seemed  in  a  fair  way  to  succeed.  So,  when  barely  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  Mr.  Scott  was  married  to  Margaret  Madison  of  Col- 
umbia, and  the  young  people  went  immediately  to  housekeeping. 
Life  seemed  fair  and  untroubled.  A  few  months  passed,  and  their 
hopes  were  dashed  to  the  ground— a  sudden  freshet  wrecked  the 
mill  and  left  the  new  firm  almost  penniless.  But  the  young  man 


THOMAS    A.    SCOTT.  163 

was  undismayed.  After  looking  about  and  trying  one  or  two 
places,  he  finally  became  chief-clerk  in  the  office  of  Alexander 
Cummings,  Collector  of  Tolls  at  Philadelphia.  Here  he  remained 
two  years,  in  the  second  of  which  occurred  the  birth  of  his  eldest 
son,  James  P.,  who  became  in  after  years  his  assistant  and  com- 
panion in  many  undertakings. 

Again  the  young  husband  and  father  returned  to  Columbia,  this 
time  as  a  shipper  in  the  large  transportation  house  of  Leech  & 
Co. ;  but  he  had  not  yet  found  his  rightful  place.  All  his  experi- 
ences and  changes  were  but  preparatory  to  the  life-work  upon 
which  he  entered  in  1850.  At  that  time  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road was  building  a  line  from  Harrisburg  to  Pittsburgh,  and  a  com- 
petent man  was  required  to  take  charge  of  the  station  at  Duncans- 
ville,  its  western  terminus.  His  engagement  at  this  post  is  graph- 
ically described  by  surviving  witnesses.  Mr.  Scott  arrived  at  the 
company's  office  in  Harrisburg  in  answer  to  a  telegram  sent  at  the 
instance  of  Dr.  Ginew.  Engineer  Thomson,  in  charge  of  the  works, 
heard  a  knock  at  his  office  door,  and  looking  up  saw  on  the  thresh- 
old a  bold,  bright  fellow  with  his  trousers  tucked  into  his  boots,  and 
a  wide-brimmed  hat  stuck  carelessly  on  the  back  of  his  head,  which 
was  covered  with  long  flowing  yellow  locks.  The  fresh  eager  face 
and  large  blue  eyes  were  full  of  life  and  spirit,  and  altogether  he 
looked  like  a  young  prince  masquerading  in  hoosier  garb. 

The  cautious  engineer  thought  this  young  man  too  inexperi- 
enced. "All  right,"  nonchalantly  replied  Scott,  "f  thought  if  I 
liked  the  place  I'd  stay  a  while,  and  if  I  didn't  I'd  tell  you  so,"  and 
he  was  about  to  depart.  His  coolness  turned  the  scale.  The  en- 
gineer called  to  the  retreating  form,  "  Come  back,  young  man,  and 
stay  with  me  a  month."  So  it  was  arranged,  and  that  moment 
revolutionized  railroading  in  this  country. 

We  are  now  so  much  accustomed  to  superb  facilities  for  travel 
and  traffic,  that  we  take  all  this  gigantic  system  of  railways  as  a 
natural  growth,  like  grand  mountains  and  far-reaching  rivers,  But 
transportation  then  was  no  more  like  transportation  now  than  the 


1 64  THOMAS     A.    SCOTT. 

crawling  of  an  earth-worm  is  like  the  sweep  of  the  eagle.  He 
would  have  laughed  who  had  been  foretold  the  present  marvellous 
rapidity  with  which  heavy  freight  is  moved  across  the  continent 
from  ocean  to  ocean.  Steam  was  applied  to  machinery,  but  the 
whole  service  was  slow,  cumbrous,  lagging.  The  genius  of  loco- 
motion had  hardly  wakened  from  his  slumber  among  the  primeval 
forces  of  nature.  He  had  waited  long  ages  for  the  master's  touch, 
the  swift  electric  brain,  and  here  entered  a  youth,  laughing  and  gay 
as  the  morning.  He  steps  forward  and  puts  his  hand  upon  the 
guiding  lever  of  the  locomotive,  he  sends  long,  keen  glances  over 
the  ground  sparsely  lined  by  rails,  he  computes;  and  calculates, 
and  examines ;  he  weighs  population  and  resources,  and  in  a  little 
while  creates  a  new  science  of  transportation. 

In  this  direction  Thomas  Alexander  Scott  was  a  leader  such  as 
no  man  had  ever  been.  He  leaped  chasms,  tunneled  hills, 
bridged  streams,  combined  facilities,  and  so  developed  a  good 
portion  of  the  most  fertile  section  of  our  country,  and  he  taught 
the  world  how  to  equip  and  manage  railroads.  The  child  of  a 
poor  widow,  the  untutored  boy,  driving  horses  on  a  canal,  clerk- 
ing in  country  stores,  going  from  one  thing  to -another  without 
real  success,  finally  found  his  post  as  the  developer  of  commerce, 
the  subduer  of  rude  forces,  the  conqueror  of  stupendous  obstacles. 
Out  of  that  wonderful  brain  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  sped  on  its 
dizzy  way,  and  a  new  scheme  of  traffic  was  mapped  out.  And  all 
this  came  out  of  honest,  hard  work.  He  toiled  early  and  late,  he 
made  himself  acquainted  with  every  detail  of  the  business,  he  left 
nothing  at  loose  ends.  His  remarkable  executive  capacity  was 
applied  to  every  part  of  the  exercise  in  which  he  took  so  much 
pride.  He  allowed  for  no  failures,  for  he  conquered  everything 
which  might  defeat.  He  studied  humarf  nature  and  put  the  riglrt 
men  in  the  right  place.  He  represented  administrative  ability 
more  than  any  other  man  of  his  generation. 

We  left  Mr.  Scott  at  Duncansville,  where  he  showed  such  sig- 
nal ability  in  charge  of  the  station,  that  he  was  promoted  to  be 


THOMAS     A.    SCOTT.  165 

superintendent  of  the  West  Division,  with  headquarters  in  Pitts- 
burgh. This  was  in  1854.  Three  years  later  he  was  appointed 
general  superintendent,  with  an  office  at  Altoona.  As  business 
increased,  the  duties  of  superintendent  became  more  onerous,  but 
the  abilities  of  the  official  kept  pace  with  the  promotion  which 
awaited  him.  In  1860,  on  the  death  of  the  incumbent,  Mr.  Scott, 
much  to  his  surprise,  became  first  Vice-President  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Thomson,  who  had  then 
become  its  president.  At  this  time  Mr.  Scott  made  a  study  of  the 
geography,  climate,  population,  commerce,  manufactures  and  un- 
developed resources  of  the  whole  breadth  of  the  continent,  in 
order  to  tap  the  grain-growing  belt  to  the  best  advantage.  In 
this  respect,  as  in  others,  he  and  President  Thomson  mutually 
helped  one  another.  One  was  slow  and  profound,  the  other  dash- 
ing and  brilliant.  The  new  vice-president  at  once  went  to  work 
to  buy  up  all  the  roads  which  could  be  utilized  by  their  company, 
including  that  running  from  Lancaster  to  Harrisburg;  that  from 
Columbia  to  Middletown ;  the  Cumberland  Valley,  from  Harris- 
burg  to  Chambersburg,  and  that  which  is  now  the  Philadelphia 
and  Erie  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania,  also  the  Northern  Central, 
running  from  Williamsport  to  Baltimore.  Thus  feeders  of  the 
main  line  were  built  up,  and  a  great  trunk  line  between  the  east- 
ern sea-board  and  the  western  rivers  established  successfully.  And 
this  work  owed  more  to  the  far-seeing  plans  and  energy  of  the 
subject  of  this  biography  than  to  any  other  person.  In  1850  the 
gross  revenue  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  only  $350,000. 
In  the  year  before  Mr.  Scott's  death,  1881,  it  amounted  to  over 
$26,000,000,  with  a  net  profit  of  $3,000,000.  It  is  the  boast  of  its 
officers  to-day,  that  no  other  road  in  the  world  drains  so  large  a 
territory  or  embraces  a  system  so  gigantic.  Indeed,  it  has  grown 
to  be  so  vast,  rich  and  influential  as  a  corporation,  that  its  power 
is  both  feared  and  courted.  Its  patronage  and  its  weight  in  legis- 
lation are  enormous.  But  the  creator  of  the  importance  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  not,  in  the  ordinary  sense,  a  politician. 


1 66  THOMAS    A.    SCOTT. 

Those  great  abilities  would  have  made  him  shine  as  a  statesman, 
but  they  were  directed  into  other  channels,  not  less  necessary  for 
the  public  welfare. 

The  year  after  Mr.  Scott  became  vice-president  of  the  road,  the 
stirring  times  of  the  war  came  on,  and  his  genius  was  called  into 
requisition  ;  first  by  Governor  Curtin,  in  order  to  assist  in  the 
transportation  of  troops  from  his  native  State  to  the  national  capi- 
tal. Washington  was  in  danger;  the  rebellion  was  rampant  in 
Baltimore,  and  communication  between  the  North  and  South  cut 
off.  The  situation  was  just  such  as  best  fitted  the  dash  and  zeal 
of  the  man  then  in  the  very  prime  of  life — the  Napoleon  of  rail- 
roads. The  efficiency  of  his  movements  was  so  marked,  that 
attention  was  called  to  it  by  General  Simon  Cameron,  then  Secre- 
tary of  War,  who  ordered  Mr.  Scott  to  report  to  him  without 
delay,  in  order  to  keep  open  and  work  the  railway  between  the 
capital  and  the  North.  At  once  the  vice-president  went  to  work, 
began  a  line  to  Philadelphia  by  way  of  Annapolis,  and  in  two  days' 
time  troops  were  landing  in  Washington.  In  order  to  give  him 
official  standing,  he  was  very  soon  made  colonel  of  the  volunteers 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  with  full  charge  of  all  railway  and  tele- 
graph lines  operated  by  the  government. 

As  soon  as  Congress  met,  Colonel  Scott  was  appointed  assistant 
secretary  of  war,  at  the  instance  of  General  Cameron.  It  is  not 
possible  here,  at  this  day,  to  compute  the  value  of  his  services  to 
the  Union  cause.  But  the  Cabinet  officers  knew  and  estimated 
aright  his  celerity  and  judgment ;  President  Lincoln  was  accus- 
tomed to  call  him  the  "  Perfect  master  of  the  situation,"  and  they 
were  frequently  conferring  together  at  the  White  House,  bending 
over  plans  and  maps  in  their  shirt-sleeves.  General  Cameron  has 
put  on  record  his  tribute  to  the  great  work  of  his  assistant  in  this 
wise :  "  No  other  man  in  America,  in  my  judgment,  could  have,  at 
that  time,  fulfilled  the  requirements  of  the  service  as  Colonel 
Thomas  A.  Scott  did.  It  needed  a  man  of  untiring  energy,  quick 
decision  and  great  nerve  to  deal  with  the  every-day  requirements 


THOMAS     A.    SCOTT.  1 6/ 

of  the  situation  ;  and  no  other  man.  possessed  all  these  qualities  to 
such  a  degree.  It  was  a  part  of  my  policy  at  the  beginning  to 
not  only  take  and  operate  railroads  in  the  enemy's  country  which 
we  captured,  but  to  build  lines  of  railroads  to  follow  the  army  as 
nearly  as  practicable.  Most  of  our  old  army  officers  thought  this 
could  not  be  done,  but  Colonel  Scott  demonstrated  its  entire  feasi- 
bility almost  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  as  a  military  railway 
manager.  He  had  great  responsibilities,  and  a  great  work  to  do. 
In  less  than  a  month  he  had  so  systematized  his  portion  of  the 
duties  of  the  department,  that  he  could  tell  the  capacity  for  trans- 
portation to  every  division  of  the  army.  His  marvellous  mastery 
of,  details  connected  with  his  business,  and  his  power  to  reach 
your  judgment  almost  without  explanation,  are  characteristics  of 
his  mind,  which  have  seemed,  in  every  respect,  to  make  him  the 
greatest  railroad  manager  that  ever  lived." 

Early  in  the  second  year  of  the  war,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  who 
succeeded  General  Cameron  in  the  War  Department,  sent  Colonel 
Scott  on  a  long  tour  through  the  West  and  Southwest,  in  order  to 
inspect  and  report  facilities  for  transportation  over  that  territory, 
as  well  as  to  advise  regarding  the  best  manner  of  protecting  public 
property.  He  proved  to  be  so  competent  an  authority  in  this 
direction,  that  he  was  despatched  through  the  Eastern  Division  of 
the  army  for  a  like  purpose.  With  this  mission  in  view,  he  trav- 
elled 10,000  miles  in  a  few  weeks,  accomplishing  his  work  to  the 
satisfaction  of  his  chief,  after  which  he  resigned  and  returned  to 
his  old  office  in  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  But  he  never  ceased 
to  do  everything  in  his  power  to  aid  the  cause  of  the  Union.  One 
anecdote  in  this  connection  attests  his  coolness  and  decision.  At 
the  battle  of  Antietam,  the  soldiers  needed  more  powder,  and  it 
was  ordered  by  telegraph.  Colonel  Scott  was  on  hand.  Loading 
a  train  with  powder  and  ammunition,  he  took  direction  of  it,  and 
sped  on  so  rapidly  that  the  boxes  of  the  wheels  began  to  smoke. 
He  was  entreated  to  slacken  speed  and  cool  the  heated  journals. 
Not  he !  On  and  on  they  rushed ;  denser  grew  the  smoke  and 


1 68  THOMAS    A.    SCOTT. 

flame.  Bravely  the  daring  man  took  the  hazard,  and  rolled  into 
the  front  with  blazing  wheels — but  everything  was  safe — but  it 
seemed  only  a  chance  that  the  train  and  all  on  board  were  not 
buried  in  a  horrible  explosion.  In  May  or  June,  1863,  Colonel 
Scott  was  once  more  pressed  into  his  country's  service,  and  his 
sagacity  was  the  cause  of  the  check  by  Union  forces  of  Lee's  advance 
on  Gettysburg;  in  September  of  the  same  year  he  was  assigned 
to  the  staff  of  General  Hooker,  with  the  rank  of  colonel  and 
assistant  quartermaster.  This  was  for  the  purpose  of  forwarding 
troops  to  Chattanooga,  through  the  building  and  repairing  of  rail- 
ways, in  order  to  rapidly  mass  soldiers  on  that  important  point.  Hav- 
ing faithfully  performed  this  work,  Colonel  Scott  again  went  back  to 
his  office,  where,  in  1871,  he  was  elected  President  of  a  Pennsyl- 
vania Company,  connecting  Pittsburgh  with  Chicago  and  St.  Louis. 
Here  he  found  immense  difficulties  in  consolidating  rival  lines. 
Having  declined  the  presidency  of  the  Erie  Railroad  Company, 
Colonel  Scott  turned  his  attention  in  1872  to  the  Texas  Pacific,  in 
which  he  invested  the  greater  portion  of  his  private  means.  The 
ensuing  year  he  visited  England  in  order  to  negotiate  for  funds  to 
prosecute  the  work  of  construction,  and  was  about  to  succeed, 
when  the  failure  of  Jay  Cooke,  and  the  subsequent  panic,  placed 
insuperable  difficulties  in  his  path.  And  on  his  immediate  return 
to  Philadelphia,  he  found  his  liabilities  amounted  to  the  amazing 
sum  of  $17,000,000. 

Colonel  Scott  at  once  proposed  to  retire  from  all  his  positions 
in  railroad  companies,  but  the  various  corporations  with  which  he 
was  connected  refused  his  resignation. 

But  it  was  a  startling  position  in  which  he  was  placed.  Tom 
Scott,  as  his  friends  loved  to  call  him,  was  finally  on  the  verge  of 
bankruptcy.  The  poor  boy,  the  ambitious,  hard-working  youth, 
the  sagacious  man  of  affairs,  had  apparently  reached  the  pinnacle 
of  fortune,  only  to  fall  from  his  dizzy  height  of  luxurious  wealth, 
bankrupt  of  all  his  proud  possessions.  But  not  so ;  the  daring, 
scheming  brain,  was  yet  unconquerable,  fortune  had  not  played 


THOMAS    A.    SCOTT.  169 

him  false.  His  creditors  met,  and,  trusting  in  his  honor  and  his 
capacity,  generously  bade  him  go  on  and  extricate  himself  from 
his  apparently  hopeless  position,  if  possible.  One  friend  after 
another  came  to  his  rescue ;  General  Cameron  advanced  a  million 
of  dollars,  others  followed  his  example,  and  he  went  to  work. 
Congress  refused  to  grant  a  subsidy,  but  with  incredible  energy, 
he  succeeded  in  placing  the  road  beyond  the  need  of  help.  He 
remained  its  president  until  the  spring  of  1881,  when  he  resigned, 
after  having  received  from  Jay  Gould  the  sum  of  $2,400,000  for 
his  entire  stock.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  business  transactions 
conducted  by  private  parties  on  record  in  this  country — through 
the -medium  of  one  little  slip  of  paper. 

But  we  will  go  back  to  the  history  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
in  the  year  18/4.  At  that  time  occurred  the  death  of  its  president, 
Mr.  Thomson,  the  old-time  friend  of  Colonel  Scott,  and  the  latter 
gentleman  was  immediately  elected  to  fill  that  place.  When  he 
entered  upon  the  office,  the  value  of  the  stock  was  estimated  at 
$13,430,000;  at  the  expiration  of  his  occupancy  of  the  chair,  its 
par  value  was  the  enormous  sum  of  $151,000,000,  Governor 
Hartranft  having  signed  a  bill  allowing  the  increase  of  nearly 
$118,000,000,  a  process  of  "watering"  stock  with  which  the  public 
is  only  too  familiar.  The  fortune  of  the  road  had  been  already 
established  by  tne  expansion  of  the  currency,  and  the  enlarged 
facilities  required  during  the  war. 

By  the  same  increase  of  value  and  of  business,  in  addition  to  the 
shrewdness  of  his  keen  judgment,  the  fortune  of  President  Scott 
was  also  secured. 

As  we  may  believe,  these  six  years  were  crowded  full  of  earnest 
toil.  He  had  secured  uniform  rates  among  trunk  lines,  established 
a  board  of  arbitration  for  the  purpose  of  settling  disputes,  organ- 
ized fast  freight  lines,  and  built  up  branch  or  connecting  roads, 
which  helped  to  develop  the  country,  while  they  fed  the  main  line 
along  the  route.  Those  various  roads  he  made  work  together  as 
a  whole,  self-supporting  and  mutually  helpful.  Nor  was  this  all. 


170  THDMAS     A.    SCOTT. 

He  was  at  the  same  time  President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Company, 
which  controlled  4,000  miles  of  railway  beyond  Pittsburgh  ;  Presi- 
dent of  the  Pan-handle  route  ;  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad ;  of 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad;  controlling  director  of  the 
Southern  Railway  Security  Company,  of  the  Kansas  Pacific,  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  as  well  as  several  other  smaller  roads. 

But  another  crisis  occurred  in  his  career  i-n  the  year  1877.  The 
great  line  competitions  began,  and  the  effect  of  the  panic  three 
years  before  still  bore  heavily  on  all  classes.  The  terrible  riots 
of  Pittsburgh  took  place,  in  which  the  loss  of  the  Pennsylvania  was 
at  least  $2,000,000.  Colonel  Scott,  who  never  knew  fear,  had  his 
headquarters  in  the  station  in  West  Philadelphia,  from  which, 
though  continually  menaced  by  mobs,  he  directed  all  the  move- 
ments of  the  troops  guarding  the  lines,  and  the  working  of  the 
trains.  His  coolness  and  intrepidity  saved  farther  loss. 

After  all  was  over,  the  Colonel  felt  weakened  physically.  His 
splendid  career  had  been  handicapped  with  too  many  heavy 
weights,  and  he  began  to  slacken  speed  in  the  race  of  life.  An 
injury  received  in  a  railway  collision  had  caused  slight  occasional 
paralysis  of  the  left  side.  And  now  the  old  symptoms  became 
aggravated.  In  the  fall  of  1878  a  second  attack  supervened,  and 
he  was  ordered  abroad  for  change  and  recreation.  The  weary 
brain  must  relax  or  give  way.  He  took  his  family  with  him,  and 
spent  most  of  the  winter  in  Nice,  among  orange  blossoms,  beside 
the  blue,  rippling  waters  of  the  Mediterranean.  He  went  up 
the  Nile,  where  old  Egypt  sits  mumbling  over  her  Pyramids ; 
sharp  contrast  to  the  life  he  had  left  behind.  But  the  nervous 
tension  had  continued  too  long ;  he  rested  but  could  not  be 
restored. 

After  his  return  Colonel  Scott  continued  to  discharge  his  duties 
as  President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  until,  after  thirty  years' 
service  in  one  or  another  department,  he  felt  constrained  to  resign 
in  May,  1880.  The  year  previous  he  had  withdrawn  from  nearly 
all  official  positions  and  closed  up  his  business,  with  the  sale  of  his 


THOMAS     A.    SCOTT.  1^1 

stock  to  Jay  Gould,  as  described.  He  still  continued  to  visit  his 
office,  but,  early  in  May,  1881,  the  end  was  evidently  approaching. 
While  on  the  way  to  attend  a  wedding  he  was  once  more  stricken 
with  paralysis  and  taken  to  his  beautiful  home,  on  the  corner  of 
Nineteenth  and  Locust  streets,  in  Philadelphia.  Under  the  skill 
of  physicians  he  rallied  sufficiently  to  be  removed  to  his  country- 
seat  at  Darby,  Delaware  county,  where  he  slowly  sunk  into  uncon- 
sciousness and  quietly  passed  away  on  Saturday,  May  2ist,  1881. 
By  his  bedside  were  his  son,  James  P.,  and  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Miriam  P.  Bickby,  children  of  his  first  wife,  who  died  a  few  years 
after  marriage.  There  were  also  present  his  second  wife,  to  whom 
he  was  married- sixteen  years  previously,  and  their  two  children, 
Edgar  Thomson  and  Minnie.  This  accomplished  lady,  who  was 
formerly  Anna  D.  Riddle,  of  Pittsburgh,  still  survives. 

It  had  been  the  express  wish  of  Colonel  Scott  that  everything 
connected  with  his  obsequies  should  be  plain  and  unpretentious. 
Four  days  after  his  death,  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  kingly  mind 
was  laid  in  the  beautiful  Woodlands  Cemetery.  The  family  lot 
occupies  the  highest  ground  in  the  burial-place,  and  is  canopied  by 
three  great  oaks,  a  spot  which  the  railway  king  had  selected  when 
in  health,  and  where  his  little  boy,  the  same  child  who  died  while 
he  was  abroad,  lay  sleeping  his  last  sleep.  Hither  was  brought 
the  simple,  black,  cloth-covered  casket,  which  had  been  kept  open 
at  the  spacious  country-house  for  his  cherished  friends  to  take  a 
farewell  look  of  features  composed  and  peaceful,  on  which  rested 
the  last,  inscrutable  smile  of  death.  It  was  noticed  that  not  a 
wrinkle  or  seam  marred  the  reposeful  brow  to  show  what  weight 
of  thought  and  care  had  laid  it  low.  The  last  great  mystery  had 
effaced  all  lesser  symbols  in  the  supreme  moment.  And  so 
they  followed  all  that  was  left  to  the  grave — the  representatives 
of  the  press,  the  bar,  the  pulpit,  and  the  great  corporations  and 
railroads  of  the  country.  Bishop  Stevens,  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  assisted  by  several  other  clergymen,  adminis- 
tered the  last  simple  rites  of  the  solemn  funeral  service.  The 


172  THOMAS     A.    SCOTT. 

grave  was  lined  and  walled  with  flowers,  and,  as  dust  was  com- 
mitted to  dust,  the  sun's  last  rays  fell  like  burnished  gold  across 
the  little  spot  where  reposed  the  body  of  the  greatest  administrator 
of  the  age. 

In  the  last  will  of  Colonel  Scott  the  customary  inventory  of  his 
property  after  death  was  forbidden,  and  no  formal  account  was  re- 
quired of  his  executors.  These  were  the  wife  and  the  eldest  son 
and  daughter  of  the  testator.  Bequests  were  given  to  his  brothers, 
sisters,  nieces  and  a  few  intimate  friends,  but  the  bulk  of  his  prop- 
erty was  divided  equally  between  his  wife  and  his  four  surviving 
children.  Colonel  Scott  had,  during  his  lifetime,  conferred  great 
benefactions  upon  a  number  of  public  institutions.  Among  these 
were  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  the  University  of  Virginia 
and  several  others,  to  which  he  gave  $50,000  each.  His  private 
kindness  was  delicate  and  almost  unbounded ;  much  of  it  never 
became  public.  Frank,  generous,  social  and  kindly  in  private, 
he  could  be  prompt  and  domineering  when  occasion  demanded. 
Cast  in  a  large  mould,  he  was  eminently  fitted  to  become  an  auto- 
crat of  railways.  Sitting  in  his  office,  within  hearing  of  the  click 
of  the  telegraph,  he  tied  together  the  seaboard  and  the  lakes,  the 
Pacific  and  the  Atlantic,  with  chains  of  steel,  and  sent  over  them 
ponderous  engines  careering  like  tops. 

Nothing  can  be  more  remarkable  than  the  way  in  which  fortune 
showered  on  him  her  choicest  gifts.  The  poor  boy  of  the  wayside 
inn,  spending  his  first  earnings  for  his  mother's  comfort;  at  middle 
life  he  was  the  peer  of  a  Rothschild.  At  his  retirement  from 
office,  at  the  head  of  the  railway  service,  his  fortune  could  not 
have  been  less  than  $17,000,000.  It  is  like  reading  the  story  of 
Aladdin's  wonderful  lamp  to  trace  his  dazzling  career  and  learn 
of  the  millions  he  accumulated.  Fortune  seemed  to  have  manu- 
factured a  cornucopia  of  golden  stuff  and  filled  it  with  the  rarest 
treasures  in  order  to  shower  all  upon  the  head  of  the  self-made 
man.  He  is  an  example  of  the  height  to  which  energy  and  will 
and  genius  can  raise  their  daring  possessor  when  once  Fortune 
turns  the  dazzling  light  of  her  face  upon  his  rugged  pathway. 


AMOS   LAWRENCE. 

BLOOD  tells ;  the  man  is  what  his  ancestors  have  made  him  in 
quality,  but  the  particular  form  of  development  is  determined  by 
circumstances.  Thus  is  explained  the  inborn  integrity  and  con- 
scientious course  pursued  in  his  business,  as  well  as  in  all  the 
affairs  of  life,  by.  Amos  Lawrence.  The  Lawrences  have  a  good 
record,  running  back  sixteen  generations  in  England,  and  for  over 
two  hundred  years  in  this  country.  The  name  is  derived  from 
the  Latin  Laurentius — meaning,  "flourishing  like  a  bay  tree." 
The  first  of  the  name  known  in  England  was  the  Monk  Lawrence 
from  Italy,  who  came  to  preach  Christianity  there;  he  became 
eventually  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  died  in  916,  being  bur- 
ied in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Austine's ;  another  ancestor  was  General 
John  Lawrence,  who  commanded  a  wing  of  the  English  army  at 
the  famous  battle  of  Flodden  Field ;  later,  one  of  the  same  name, 
a  clergyman,  was  exiled  for  his  faith  by  Queen  Mary.  One,  Ed- 
ward, was  knighted  in  1619.  The  family  have  always  had  a  relig- 
ious character — mixed  with  military  and  literary  tendencies.  The 
immediate  ancestor  of  the  present  family  in  New  England  came 
here  in  the  company  led  by  John  Winthrop,  the  first  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  like  most  of  the  first  colonists  actuated  by  relig- 
ious principles. 

Samuel,  the  father  of  Amos  Lawrence,  was  a  sturdy  patriot, 
and  one  of  the  very  first  yeomen  to  take  up  arms  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution ;  he  belonged  to  the  "  Minute  Men  "  of  Groton, 
Massachusetts,  and  on  that  ever  memorable  I9th  of  April,  1/75, 
he  was  hastily  summoned,  while  at  work  in  his  field,  by  General 
Prescott,  who,  riding  hastily  toward  the  Lawrence  homestead,  gave 
the  warning  call:  "Samuel,  notify  your  men  the  British  are  com- 

(i73) 


174 


AMOS     LAWRENCE. 


ing !  "  Not  a  moment  did  he  delay,  collecting  the  members  of  his 
company,  who  resided  at  considerable  distances  apart,  from  one  to 
seven  miles,  they  were  all  ready  in  three  hours'  time,  and  march- 
ing on  their  way  to  Boston.  The  body  gathered  by  the  intrepid 
Lawrence  came  up  in  time  to  share  in  the  battle,  and  the  glory  of 
Bunker  Hill,  some  of  them  in  wounds  and  patriots'  death. 

Samuel  Lawrence  had  a  narrow  escape :  his  hat  bore  the  marks 
of  two  bullets,  one  of  which  grazed  the  hair  from  the  top  of  his 
head,  while  a  spent  shot  lamed  his  arm.  Two  years  later  Samuel 
Lawrence  stood  by  the  side  of  his  chosen  bride,  and  while  the 
marriage  was  yet  incomplete  the  tolling  of  the  town  bell  an- 
nounced to  the  "minute  men  "  that  danger  was  apprehended,  and 
their  presence  called  for;  the  ceremony  was  hastily  concluded, 
which  made  Susanna  Parker  the  wife  of  this  moral  hero,  and  tak- 
ing a  hurried  farewell  of  her  he  went  bravely  forth  to  join  the 
defenders  of  his  country,  unknowing  whether  he  should  ever  re- 
join the  young  wife  from  whom  he  was  so  suddenly  and  unexpect- 
edly separated.  He  afterwards  did  the  State  some  good  in  the 
battle  of  Rhode  Island,  was  created  a  major  for  his  bravery  in  face 
of  the  enemy,  and  finally  returned  to  enjoy  the  peace  his  valor  had 
helped  to  win.  In  civil  life  he  was  honored  and  respected,  was 
made  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  for  many  years  a  deacon  of 
the  church.  He  was  also  a  promoter  of  learning,  and  projected, 
with  the  aid  of  others,  the  famous  academy,  afterward  called  by 
his  name,  which  still  exists  and  flourishes  in  Groton,  of  which  he 
was  a  trustee  for  thirty-three  years.  From  such  a  father  we  ought 
to  expect  energetic  and  conscientious  sons.  His  mother,  whom  he 
greatly  venerated,  was  also  a  woman  of  marked  intelligence  and 
great  energy,  and  of  a  good  ancestry.  This  couple  had  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Amos  and  Abbott  became  the  most  distinguished 
by  their  honest  accumulation  of  great  wealth,  and  their  benevolent 
use  of  it.  Amos  was  born  on  the  22ci  of  April,  1786,  being  the 
third  son.  He  was  a  delicate  child,  and  consequently  was  not 
kept  constantly,  as  were  the  hardier  boys,  at  the  district  school ; 


AMOS     LAWRENCE.  1 75 

but  his  education  was  not  on  that  account  neglected ;  both  father 
and  mother,  by  their  instruction,  more  than  made  up  to  him  what 
he  missed  by  occasional  absences  from  the  schoolhouse.  As  he 
grew  older  and  stronger  he  was  sent  to  the  academy,  which  his 
father's  influence  had  done  so  much  to  create ;  but  when  only  thir- 
teen he  left  the  scholar's  bench  and  took  a  position  behind  the 
counter  of  a  "country  store,"  kept  by  one  James  Brazier.  If  a 
country  store  does  not  impress  the  visitor  from  a  large  city  with 
harmony  and  congruity,  it  nevertheless  is  a  good  school  for  a 
young  beginner  in  trade  to  learn  the  value  and  uses  of  a  great 
variety  of  products  and  utensils.  In  Brazier's  store  might  be 
found  everything  in  the  hardware  line  from  a  plough  to  a  needle  ;  in 
textile  fabrics,  from  a  horse-blanket  to  a  pocket-handkerchief;  from 
the  garden,  all  the  usual  productions  from  a  pumpkin  to  a  pepper- 
corn ;  from  the  field,  apples  and  oats ;  from  the  earth,  coal  and 
salt;  for  the  festively  inclined,  Jamaica  rum  and  cider;  for  the 
sick,  drugs  of  every  description,  patented  or  made  up  by  prescrip- 
tion. A  boy  must  be  dull  who  does  not  gain  some  new  ideas  by 
the  contact  with  and  sale  of  such  varied  articles,  and  young  Amos 
Lawrence  was  one  who  profited  greatly  by  this  experience. 

Every  "country  store"  then  had  what  might  be  called  "a  bar;" 
liquors  were  mixed  to  the  taste  of  the  customers  to  be  drunk  on 
the  spot,  and  clerks  were  expected  to  perform  this  duty  as 
promptly  as  any  other ;  in  this  store  of  Brazier's  there  were  four 
other  young  men,  all  older  than  Amos,  who  had  learned  to  com- 
bine for  themselves  a  very  pleasant  drink  composed  of  various  in- 
gredients,, the  basis  of  which  was  rum  ;  for  a  short  time  young 
Lawrence  joined  his  elders  in  partaking  of  this  refreshment,  but 
on  finding  the  desire  for  it  growing  upon  him,  young  as  he  was  he 
resolved  to  strike  out  a  line  for  himself,  and  declined  to  partake 
of  the  seductive  mixture.  At  first  he  only  meant  to  break  him- 
self temporarily  of  the  habit  of  anticipating  the  hour  of  indul- 
gence, but  finally  concluded  that  it  was  best  to  abstain  altogether; 
which  he  did  from  that  time  forward,  though  he  was  still  under  the 


jy6  AMOS     LAWRENCE. 

obligation  to  mix  drinks  and  sell  to  customers.  Considering  that 
at  the  time  of  making  this  wise  resolution  the  indulgence  cost 
him  nothing,  that  the  custom  was  almost  universal,  and  that  the 
other  clerks  were  all  older  than  himself,  it  was  certainly  remark- 
able in  a  boy  of  fourteen  to  show  the  courage  of  his  opinions  in 
so  direct  and  practical  a  manner ;  nor  can  we  think  that  he  effected 
this  without  drawing  upon  himself  the  sneers  and  jokes  of  his 
companions :  one  of  the  hardest  trials  a  lad  can  be  called  to  bear. 
About  the  same  time  he  determined  to  avoid  the  use  of  tobacco 
in  every  shape :  not  because  he  did  not  like  it,  for  he  often  kept  a 
cigar  in  his  desk  for  its  flavor,  but  because  its  use  was  unnecessary, 
expensive,  and  objectionable  in  many  ways.  Amos  had  early 
learned  to  restrain  his  appetite,  one  of  the  most  important 
branches  of  education,  unfortunately  too  much  neglected  by 
parents  and  guardians. 

But  every  one's  reward  for  virtuous  conduct  does  not  come  so 
quickly  and  surely  as  did  young  Lawrence's.  He  persevered 
through  the  whole  of  his  apprenticeship  in  the  course  he  had 
marked  out  for  himself,  and,  with  prompt,  faithful,  strict  atten- 
tion to  all  his  duties,  he  gradually  took  precedence,  in  the  eyes  of 
his  master,  of  the  other  clerks,  and  the  management  of  the  busi- 
ness was  eventually  left  almost  wholly  in  his  hands.  Among  other 
things,  he  had  so  familiarized  himself  with  the  drug  department 
that  it  was  quite  a  usual  occurrence  for  persons  to  consult  him  as 
to  their  use,  thus  saving  themselves  the  expense  of  applying  to  a 
physician. 

No  sooner  was  Amos  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  his  seven 
years'  apprenticeship  ended,  than  he  started  for  Boston,  a  neighbor 
conveying  him  in  his  chaise,  with  the  meagre  sum  of  twenty  dol- 
lars in  his  pocket.  His  reputation  for  capacity  and  probity  had  gone 
before  him,  and  he  had  no  difficulty  in  procuring  a  clerkship ;  in 
fact,  one  was  offered  him  as  soon  as  it  was  known  he  was  free  to 
accept  a  position,  though  he  had  intended  commencing  business  in 
Groton,  and  had  gone  to  Boston  to  establish  a  credit.  He  con- 


AMOS     LAWRENCE,  1 77 

tinued  in  this  place  only  from  April  to  the  close  of  the  year ;  then 
he  decided  to  go  into  business  for  himself — this  was  in  1807. 
True,  he  had  no  capital  except  his  excellent  record  and  his  experi- 
ence, but  with  these  he  obtained  the  necessary  credit,  and  he 
opened  his  first  little  dry-goods  store  on  Cornhill,  Boston.  He  at 
first  employed  but  one  clerk,  who  was  hereafter  to  win  fame  in  quite 
another  direction.  This  was  Henry,  afterwards  Brigadier-General 
Whiting,  U.  S.  A.  Mr.  Lawrence,  Sr.,  had  naturally  taken  great 
interest  in  the  venture  of  his  son  Arnos,  commencing  business  on 
nothing,  as  one  may  say,  but  his  good  character ;  but  on  this  his 
father  relied,  as  did  others.  But  he  felt  that  some  money  was 
needed.  So  the  old  gentleman,  without  consulting  his  son,  put  a 
mortgage  of  $1,000  on  his  farm  and  brought  the  cash  to  Amos; 
the  latter  accepted  its  use,  but  with  regret,  feeling  the  terrible  re- 
sponsibility of  what  would  happen  if  he  should  fail  and  be  unable 
to  repay  it.  But  he  did  not  fail,  and  lived  in  prosperity  many 
years  in  which  to  repay,  not  only  the  money,  but  the  trust  which 
his  father  had  reposed  in  him. 

Prompt  payment  was  one  of  the  cardinal  points  in  the  conduct 
of  his  business.  In  this  period  of  his  life,  while  in  the  retail  trade, 
he  never  allowed  a  bill  against  him  to  remain  unpaid  over  the 
Sabbath,  even  for  goods  bought  at  auction  on  Saturday.  He 
settled  by  bill,  note  or  otherwise,  so  as  to  start  the  next  week  clear 
of  all  complications.  An  accurate  daily  balance  of  accounts,  a 
frequent  examination  and  inventory  of  stock,  strict  economy  in 
personal  habits,  the  limitation  of  obligations,  so  as  to  leave  him- 
self a  fair  margin  for  unforeseen  contingencies,  could  hardly  fail 
to  carry  the  young  merchant  safely  through  his  initial  experiment, 
and  at  the  end  of  his  first  year  he  could  show  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars of  clear  profit.  The  second  year  his  books  showed  a  balance 
in  his  favor  of  four  thousand  dollars;  and  Amos  Lawrence  might 
now  be  said  to  be  firmly  anchored  among  the  most  trusted  of  the 
young  merchants  of  Boston,  then  famous  for  its  many  reliable 
and  worthy  business  men,  who  grew  up  to  earn  the  cognomen  of 
"  the  solid  men  of  Boston." 

12 


1 78  AMOS     LAWRENCE. 

Some  of  our  readers  may  think  that  Mr.  Lawrence  was  spe- 
cially favored  by  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  imagine  that  his 
opportunities  were  more  favorable  than  is  offered  young  men  at 
the  present  day,  but,  so  far  is  this  from  being  the  case,  that  we  may 
safely  say  that  at  no  period  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
has  there  been  a  longer  and  drearier  period  of  "bad  times  "  than 
the  first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  mercantile  experi- 
ence. In  the  winter  of  1807  and  1808,  when  he  commenced,  was 
the  precise  period  when  all  business  was  thrown  into  confusion, 
and  in  many  cases  merchants  were  completely  ruined  by  the 
"French  spoliations"  upon  the  sea,  and  by  the  bitter  remedy  ap- 
plied by  the  government  of  subsequently  placing  an  "embargo" 
on  vessels  which  forbade  them  leaving  any  port  in  New  England 
— utter  stagnation  would  have  been  the  result  had  not  this  famous 

o 

edict  been  more  or  less  successfully  evaded.  War  was  in  the  air,  dis- 
turbing values  and  making  all  investments  insecure ;  and  then  fol- 
lowed the  actual  collision  with  England,  and,  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  war  of  1812,  the  burden  of  taxation  was  so  great  that  im- 
mense numbers  of  small  land-holders  had  their  property  sold  at 
public  auction  for  arrears  of  taxes,  and  it  was.  not  until  after  the 
election  of  President  Monroe,  in  1817 — the  "era  of  good  feeling" 
— that  a  general  revival  of  business  took  place,  aided  by  the  new 
tariff  which  went  into  operation  about  the  same  time  that  the  New 
England  merchant  could  feel  assured  that  a  reasonable  invest- 
ment was  sure  of  a  suitable  return.  It  was  not  a  favorable  time 
when  Amos  Lawrence  ventured  his  fortunes  in  a  stock  of  dry- 
goods  on  Cornhill ;  but,  by  care  and  good  judgment,  he  conquered 
the  bad  times  and  came  out  of  the  struggle  victorious. 

At  the  first  smell  of  powder  his  only  clerk,  Henry  Whiting,  had 
left  him,  and  Amos  Lawrence  now  determined  to  invite  his 
younger  brother,  Abbott,  to  come  with  him  as  a  clerk.  Abbott 
was  at  this  time  only  fifteen,  but  he  had  been  taught,  like  his  elder 
brothers,  to  use  all  his  talents,  and  Amos  had  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  he  would  take  an  interest  in  the  bu-siness,  more  than  a  stran- 


AMOS     LAWRENCE.  J  79 

ger  would  be  likely  to  do,  and  in  this  he  was  not  mistaken.  It 
was  in  October,  1808,  when  the  lumbering  old  stage,  connecting 
with  Groton,  brought  to  the  old  tavern,  known  as  the  "  Exchange," 
'and  there  deposited  its  youngest  passenger,  a  lad  with  all  his 
wardrobe  contained  in  a  bundle,  which  he  carried  in  his  hands, 
and  the  mighty  sum  of  three  dollars,  which  he  carefully  guarded, 
in  his  pocket.  This  was  the  debut  of  Abbott  Lawrence  in  Boston, 
the  future  "merchant  prince,"  munificent  patron  of  learning,  states- 
man, and  Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  outshining  in  popu- 
lar estimation,  if  not  in  solid  worth,  his  elder  brother,  who  had 
summoned  him  from  the  paternal  acres  to  come  and  sell  cotton- 
cloth  on  Cornhill.  For  nearly  seven  years  Abbott  acted  as  em- 
ploye in  the  store  until  1814,  when  he  was  received  into  partner- 
ship ;  the  new  firm  taking  the  title  of  "A.  &  A.  Lawrence."  Mr. 
Amos  Lawrence  had  gradually  been  eliminating  the  retail  features 
of  his  business,  and  the  new  firm  now  estabfished  themselves  as 
importers  and  commission  merchants,  dealing  largely  in  woollen 
goods,  as  also  in  the  manufacture  and  exportation  of  cottons. 
They  were  among  the  first  interested  in  the  establishment  of  the 
cotton-mills  at  Lowell,  and  subsequently  in  others.  They  were 
the  leading  projectors  and  large  stockholders  in  the  Suffolk, 
Tremont  and  Lawrrence  companies.  From  this  time  forward 
wealth  rolled  in  upon  them  like  a  golden  stream ;  their  business 
transactions  grew  with  their  fortunes,  and  the  firm  of  "A.  &  A. 
Lawrence  "  stood  second  to  none  in  the  tri-mountain  city. 

As  a  mill-owner  Mr.  Lawrence  did  much  to  preserve  the  well- 
being  of  the  female  operatives  employed  in  the  mills,  making  such 
judicious  regulations  and  provisions  as  would  secure  to  them  the 
most  healthful  accommodations,  and  means  of  religious  and  men- 
tal culture  which  the  circumstances  admitted  of.  In  his  day,  it 
must  be  remembered,  the  country  had  not  then  been  subjected  to 
the  flood  of  foreigners  which  has  since  forced  out  of  the  mills  the 
daughters  of  the  soil ;  most  of  the  operatives  were  young  women 
from  the  agricultural  districts,  many  of  whom  came  to  work  only 


T  go  AMOS     LAWRENCE. 

one  or  more  seasons  in  the  mills,  perhaps  to  earn  money  to  pay 
for  a  term  or  two  at  "  the  Academy ; "  to  help  pay  a  brother's  ex- 
penses at  college,  or  possibly  to  pay  off  a  mortgage  on  the  home- 
stead. With  such  hands  as  these  every  effort  for  their  benefit  met 
with  the  fullest  appreciation.  But  they  could  not  be  dealt  with 
like  machines.  We  are  aware  that  the  Lawrences  have  been 
criticised  for  not  doing  more  than  they  did  for  their  numerous 
operatives,  but  the  operatives  of  his  day  were  American  men  and 
>vomen,  able  to  look  out  for  themselves,  and  who  would  have  re- 
sented any  interference  in  their  personal  habits.  They  had  such 
accommodations  as  they  paid  for,  and  they  saved  or  spent  their 
money  as  they  chose  ;  yet  we  know  that  Mr.  Lawrence  prided  him- 
self upon  the  comfortable  appearance  and  well-being,  morally  and 
mentally,  of  his  work-people,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  contrasting 
them  in  every  particular  with  the  "  mill-hands  "  of  Manchester  and 
other  manufacturing  cities  in  England.  Their  free  and  indepen- 
dent looks  and  respectable  style  of  dress  sufficiently  showed  they 
were  not  ill-used. 

Mr.  Lawrence  never  speculated  in  stocks,  hence  it  is  not  easy 
to  discover  where  at  any  one  time  he  made  a.  great  sudden  addi- 
tion to  his  fortune;  in  fact,  he  himself  admitted  that  he  never  did; 
his  wealth  increased  by  steady,  constant,  and  large  but  not  aston- 
ishing additions.  There  was  no  cessation  to  the  incoming  profits, 
no  relapses,  no  suspensions,  no  failures,  and  so  panoplied  was  he 
with  business  caution  and,  it  may  be  added,  prescience  of  coming 
changes,  that  no  commercial  crisis  shook  his  credit,  no  financial 
panic  moved  the  solidity  of  the  firm  ;  gradual,  steady  accretion  was 
the  law  of  accumulation  with  Amos  Lawrence,  and  the  "  law  unto 
himself"  of  distribution  was  very  similar.  He  gave  away  steadily, 
as  he  received,  and  with  as  much  method  and  discretion  ;  about  a 
tenth  of  his  large  income  was  habitually  devoted  to  charity.  In 
his  mode  of  bestowal  every  effort  was  made  by  him  to  avoid  pub- 
licity ;  there  was  no  affectation  about  this ;  he  was  seriously  an- 
noyed whenever  injudicious  friends  paraded  his  beneficence  in  the 


AMOS     LAWRENCE.  jgl 

papers,  and  on  several  occasions  took  special  pains  to  prevent 
such  action. 

Mr.  Lawrence  had  what  might  be  called  a  strong  penchant  for 
giving  advice;  whether  this  was  always  well  received  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing,  but  his  diary  abounds  in  instances  of  letters 
written  for  the  sole  purpose  of  warning  or  guiding  some  young 
relative  or  friend,  and  some  not  so  young.  When  he  sent  his 
brother  Abbott  on  his  first  business  voyage  to  England,  in  1815, 
the  young  man  being  then  nearly  twenty-three,  his  elder  brother 
wrote  him  an  excellent  letter,  warning  him  to  withstand  all  the 
"  new  forms  of  temptation  he  might  meet  among  strangers."  To 
his  own  son,  in  after  life,  whom  he  had  sent  to  Europe  for  the 
benefit  of  foreign  travel,  he  wrote  some  truly  excellent  suggestions, 
which  many  of  our  modern  youths  might  profit  by.  Mr.  Lawrence 
was  a  firm  believer  in  American  principles,  and  he  wanted  no  im- 
portation of  manners  or  ethics  in  his  family.  He  writes  thus  to 
his  son,  then  (1829)  in  Europe:  "Bring  home  no  foreign  fancies 
which  are  inapplicable  to  our  state  of  society.  It  is  very  common 
for  our  young  men  to  come  home  and  appear  quite  ridiculous,  in 
attempting  to  introduce  their  foreign  fashions.  It  should  always 
be  kept  in  mind,  that  the  state  of  society  is  widely  different  here 
from  that  in  Europe,  and  our  comfort  and  character  require  it 
should  long  remain  so.  Those  who  strive  to  introduce  many  of 
the  European  habits  and  fashions,  by  displacing  our  own,  do  a 
serious  injury  to  the  republic,  and  deserve  censure.  An  idle  per- 
son, with  good  powers  of  mind,  becomes  torpid  and  inactive  after 
a  few  years  indulgence,  and  is  incapable  of  making  any  high  effort. 
Highly  important  is  it  then,  to  avoid  this  enemy  of  mental  and 
moral  improvement."  To  another  son,  at  school,  he  writes :  "  Get 
the  habit  firmly  fixed  by  putting  down  every  cent  you  receive  and 
every  cent  you  expend.  In  this  way  you  will  acquire  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  relative  value  of  things,  and  a  habit  of  judging  and  of 
care,  which  will  be  of  use  to  you  during  all  your  life.  .  .  The 
habit  of  being  accurate  will  have  an  influence  upon  your  whole 
character." 


jg2  AMOS     LAWRENCE. 

He  especially  urged  his  son  to  write  out  fully  and  clearly  the 
account  of  any  expense  of  the  judiciousness  of  which  he  doubted, 
and  by  no  means  to  omit  it,  or  slur  it  over.  "  This  habit,"  he  adds, 
"  is  as  necessary  for  professional  men  as  for  a  merchant,  because, 
in  their  business,  there  are  numerous  ways  to  make  little  savings, 
if  they  find  their  income  too  small,  which  they  would  not  adopt 
without  looking  at  the  detail  of  all  their  expenses." 

Mr.  Lawrence  was  wont  to  express  the  opinion  that,  among  the 
numerous  merchants  whom  he  had  known,  who  had  failed  in 
business,  that  a  prominent  cause  was  "  want  of  system  "  in  their 
affairs,  by  which  they  might  know  when  their  expenses  and  losses 
exceeded  their  profits.  This  remark  was  probably  made  before 
the  system  of  bookkeeping  by  double  entry  had  become  as  com- 
mon as  it  is  now,  and  which  may  be  said  to  have  been  introduced 
in  Boston  by  Amos  Lawrence ;  the  firm  of  A.  and  A.  Lawrence 
being  the  first  merchants  to  open  a  set  of  books  upon  that  prin- 
ciple. 

To  a  son,  at  school  in  France,  he  writes:  "I  beseech  you  to  con- 
sider well  the  advantages  you  enjoy,  and  to  avail  yourself  of  your 
opportunities  to  give  your  manners  a  little  more  care  and  polish ; 
for  you  may  depend  upon  it,  manners  are  highly  important  in  your 
intercourse  with  the  world.  Good  principles,  good  temper,  and 
good  manners  will  carry  a  man  through  the  world  much  better 
than  he  can  get  along  with  the  absence  of  either.  The  most  im- 
portant are  good  principles ;  without  these,  the  best  manners, 
though  for  a  time  acceptable,  cannot  sustain  a  person  in  trying 
situations.  Do  not  omit  the  opportunity  to  acquire  a  character 
and  habits,  that  will  continue  to  improve  during  the  remainder  of 
life.  At  its  close,  the  reflection  that  you  have  thus  done,  will  be  a 
support  and  stay  worth  more  than  any  sacrifice  you  may  ever  be 
called  upon  to  make  in  acquiring  these  habits."  Mr.  Lawrence's 
own  life  was  a  full  and  perfect  justification  of  these  sentiments. 
In  his  business  he  carried  them  out  to  the  fullest  extent. 

In  regard  to  the  charities  of  Amos  Lav/rence,  there  has  been  no 


AMOS     LAWRENCE.  183 

record  preserved  for  the  first  twenty-two  years  of  his  residence  in 
Boston.  That  he  kept  such  a  record  is  highly  probable,  as  without 
it  he  could  scarcely  conform  to  his  own  standard  of  knowing  pre- 
cisely how  he  stood  as  to  "  profit  and  loss  ;  "  perhaps,  under  some 
impulse  of  modesty,  he  destroyed  these  records  after  they  had 
served  their  purpose.  If  so,  he  took  a  new  departure  in  1829, 
and  preserved  them  carefully ;  probably  at  this  time  they  became 
much  larger,  as  he  was  then  exempt  from  any  possible  care  as  to 
the  future  of  his  family;  his  wealth  by  that  time  being  considered 
very  large,  though  bearing  no  comparison  to  the  monstrous  for- 
tunes which  have  been  accumulated  in  modern  days.  Mr.  Amos 
Lawrence's  charities  did  not  take  the  most  common  form  of  large 
donations  to  popular  objects  or  charities,  but  consisted  mainly  in 
the  personal  distribution  of  money,  clothing,  coal,  books,  etc. ; 
whatever  was  most  needed  by  the  individual  poor  of  his  own  city 
of  Boston.  That  he  was  sometimes  deceived,  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  but  in  the  main  this  was  perhaps  the  most  .satisfactory  way 
of  dispensing  charity — to  give  to  those  whom  one  personally  knows 
to  be  in  need,  without  the  intervention  of  society  "red-tape"  rules, 
or  paid  agents.  Certainly  it  is  the  way  in  which  the  donor  can 
receive  the  most  prompt  and  satisfactory  return  for  his  bounty, 
being  paid  by  the  sight  of  happiness  produced,  benefits  conferred, 
and  acknowledged  by  the  cheered  hearts  and  glistening  eyes  of  the 
recipients.  Mr.  Lawrence  says  in  his  diary:  "I  have  for  the  year 
1829  kept  a  particular  account  of  such  other  expenses  as  came 
under  the  denomination  of  charities,  and  appropriations  for  the 
benefit  of  others ;  not  of  my  own  household,  for  many  of  whom  I 
feel  under  the  same  obligation  as  my  own  family."  This  precise 
form  of  record  of  charities  was  henceforward  kept  with  scrupulous 
care  for  the  remaining  twenty-three  years  of  his  life ;  and  a  very 
curious  record  it  is,  especially  the  make-up  of  some  of  those  pot 
pourri  packages,  "  as  big  as  a  small  haycock,"  which  were  every 
now  and  then  sent  off  to  some  poor  minister's  family,  living  in 
some  country  parish  on  a  salary  of  three  or  four  hundred  a  year. 


184  AMOS    LAWRENCE. 

Mr.  Lawrence  devoted  two  rooms  in  his  house  to  the  storage 
of  articles  to  be  given  away ;  a  certain  division  contained  clothing, 
shoes,  quilts,  blankets,  piece  goods ;  another,  household  utensils, 
tools,  articles  of  furniture,  etc.  In  a  department  frequently  emptied 
and  replenished  were  articles  of  food,  barrels  of  flour,  sacks  of 
meal,  hams,  apples,  and  at  certain  seasons  chickens  and  turkeys, 
which  Mr.  Lawrence  personally,  or  through  some  of  his  family, 
would  take  in  a  carriage  and  leave  among  the  families  known  to 
be  in  need.  During  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  when  business 
pressed  more  lightly  upon  him,  Mr.  Lawrence  would  spend  many 
hours  in  the  course  of  a  week  making  up  bundles  and  packages, 
adapted  to  the  individual  needs  of  his  beneficiaries.  Usually  his 
coachman  was  his  assistant  in  wrapping  and  tying  up  these  bun- 
dles. To  some  of  our  millionaires  who  have  given  their  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  to  found  institutions  of  learning  or  charity, 
these  details  may  seem  puerile ;  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  rela- 
tively more  good  was  accomplished  in  this  discriminate  and  sym- 
pathetic distribution,  than  it  is  possible  to  secure  by  larger  sums, 
through  more  formal  and  official  means.  It  is  also  to  be  consid- 
ered that  Mr.  Lawrence's  fortune  was  only  relatively  large.  It 
would  hardly  be  rated  now  as  anything  extraordinary,  though  it 
was  so  regarded  by  his  cotemporaries.  But  all  of  Mr.  Lawrence's 
gifts  were  not  of  a  private  nature. 

In  1846  he  purchased  a  large  building  on  Mason  street  to  found 
a  hospital  for  children,  adding  $5,000  as  a  donation  towards  its 
maintenance.  This  charity  was  afterwards  removed  to  Washing- 
ton street,  and  called  the  Child's  Infirmary.  He  was  a  trustee  of 
the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  and  this  association  was 
favored  with  many  donations  from  him.  He  gave  $10,000  to  Wil- 
liams College  in  1845,  and  finding  that  this  had  become  public,  and 
wishing  to  make  some  additional  gift,  he  wrote  to  President  Hop- 
kins, January  26th,  1846,  as  follows: 

"  I  have  thought  much  of  the  best  means  of  helping  your  college 
to  a  library  building  without  its  getting  into  the  newspapers,"  etc. 


AMOS   LAWRENCE^  185 

At  this  time  he  sent  $5,000,  and  the  next  year  additional  money 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  library.  In  1847  ne  established  four 
free  scholarships,  "  for  all  time,"  to  be  used  through  the  Trustees 
of  Lawrence  Academy  in  Groton.  All  his  gifts  to  Williams  Col- 
lege cannot  now  be  traced.  He  was  constantly  adding  to  the 
library  new,  and  valuable,  and  costly  books.  He  also  used  his  in- 
fluence to  induce  others  to  give,  and  was  the  means  of  procuring 
valuable  donations  to  Amherst,  and  made,  himself,  gifts  to  Wabash. 
In  Ireland's  great  famine  year,  1847,  he  gave  largely  to  the  relief 
committee.  He  subscribed  $10,000  towards  the  erection  of  the 
Bunker  Hill  Monument  at  Charleston.  It  is  estimated  that  he 
gav,e  in  charities  between  $600,000  and  $700,000. 

One  very  pleasing  incident  among  the  young  people  shows  in 
what  estimation  he  was  held  by  them  :  in  the  famous  "  Mather 
School,"  in  Boston,  a  society  for  mental  culture  was  formed  called 
the  "Lawrence  Association,"  and  on  Christmas  day,  1849,  a  dele- 
gation  from  this  school  of  forty-nine  young  ladies  was  appointed 
who  presented  him  with  a  silver  cup,  simply  as  an  expression  of 
esteem.  (The  "  Mather  School "  is  one  of  the  public  schools  of 
Boston,  containing  both  sexes.)  Mr.  Lawrence  served  one  term 
in  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives,  and  was  chosen 
an  elector  for  the  State  in  the  presidential  contest,  when  General 
Scott  was  a  candidate,  for  whom  Mr.  Lawrence  cast  his  vote : 
having  been  a  Whig  in  politics  all  his  life,  or  while  that  party  ex- 
isted. 

For  many  years  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Mr,  Lawrence 
was  a  permanent  invalid,  though  not  laid  up  ;  he  was  a  constant 
sufferer  from  dyspepsia,  so  that  in  the  midst  of  possible  luxury  he 
was  obliged  to  limit  himself  to  a  few  ounces  per  day  of  the  plain- 
est food:  "coarse  meal  gruel"  was  his  regular  diet;  he  usually 
took  his  meals  separately  from  the  family,  to  avoid  the  temptation 
of  more  inviting  viands. 

Mr.  Lawrence  was  twice  married:  in  1811  to  Miss  Sarah  Rich- 
ards, who  died  in-i8i9,  and  in  1821  to  Mrs.  Nancy  Ellis,  widow  of 


1 86  AMOS     LAWRENCE. 

Judge  Ellis  of  New  Hampshire,  and  daughter  of  Robert  Means 
of  Amherst. 

He  was  a  very  domestic  man,  and  always  able  to  find  in  his 
family  circle  more  attraction  than  in  gayer  scenes  elsewhere.  Mr. 
Lawrence,  though  a  far-seeing,  sharp  business  man,  always  taking 
opportunities,  as  he  expressed  it,  "at  the  top  of  the  tide,"  never 
separated  his  religion  from  his  business ;  going  even  so  far,  ac- 
cording to  the  Rev.  Father  Taylor,  as  to  have  scripture  texts  en- 
graved on  the  inner  folds  of  his  pocket-book.  He  was  a  Unitar- 
ian in  belief — a  denomination  which  places  more  trust  in  a  good 
life  than  a  finely  cut  creed ;  and  Amos  Lawrence's  whole  life  was 
an  exemplification  of  this  practical  sort  of  faith.  He  died  on  the 
3ist  of  December,  1852,  in  the  night,  of  a  sudden  attack  of  his 
old  complaint.  He  was  a  man,  conscientious  almost  to  super- 
scrupulousness,  but  of  a  large  heart,  and  of  a  class  of  whom  we 
might  well  wish  that  they  were  more  numerous. 


A.  J.  DREXEL 


A.  J.   DREXEL. 

THE  father  of  Mr.  Anthony  J.  Drexel  came  to  America  from 
Austria  when  Napoleon  invaded  that  country,  and  pursued  his 
profession  as  a  portrait-painter.  He  had  received  an-  excellent 
art  education  at  Milan,  and  was  quickly  appreciated  in  the  country 
of  his  adoption.  Settling  in  Philadelphia,  he  married,  and  resided 
on,  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Public  Ledger  building,  at  the 
corner  of  Chestnut  and  Sixth  streets.  His  studio  was  in  the  same 
building.  Learning  that  South  America  was  a  promising  field  for 
a  young  artist,  he  sailed  for  Valparaiso,  and  after  establishing  him- 
self there,  spent  his  leisure  in  acquiring  the  Spanish  language. 
His  professional  employment  soon  became  lucrative,  and  he  vis- 
ited a  number  of  other  large  cities.  During  his  residence  in  South 
America  he  made  many  friends,  and  two  years  after  his  return  to 
Philadelphia  was  recalled  to  that  country,  where  he  painted  many 
portraits  and  pictures.  Many  of  the  latter  still  adorn  churches  in 
Chili,  Peru,  Ecuador,  Granada,  and  Brazil.  In  1830  he  visited 
Mexico,  and  on  his  return  from  that  country  settled  in  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  where  he  did  not  remain  long,  but  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  opened  a  broker's  office,  in  order  to  give  his 
sons  a  business  opportunity.  This  was  in  1838,  and  artist  though 
he  was,  he  was  also  a  good  business  man,  and  the  firm  of  Drexel, 
Sather  &  Church  flourished  from  the  time  it  was  organized  in 
1837  until  J857,  when  he  withdrew  from  it,  leaving  it  to  his  sons. 
The  firm  had  become  large,  prosperous,  and  of  high  credit  in  his 
lifetime,  and  later  was  at  the  front  rank  of  banking  houses  in 
America.  The  two  brothers  were  Anthony  J.  and  Francis  A.,  the 
former  of  whom  is  at  the  head  of  the  house.  The  DrexelshaveaNew 
York  house,  now  Drexel,  Morgan  &  Co.,  and  a  Paris  house,  Drexel, 


1 88  A.    J.    DREXEL. 

Harjes  &  Co.,  a  London  connection,  J.  S.  Morgan  &  Co.  The 
loans,  credits,  and  other  financial  operations  of  these  three  Drexel 
banks  extend  all  over  the  commercial  world. 

Anthony  J.  Drexel  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1826,  and  long 
before  he  was  through  with  his  school  studies  entered  the  bank  at 
the  age  of  thirteen.  Since  then  the  history  of  the  banking  estab- 
lishment has  been  his  life.  Its  progress,  its  great  growth,  its  high 
repute,  its  wide  influence,  the  extent  of  its  operations,  furnish  the 
material  that  would  go  into  his  biography,  his  brother's  and  his 
father's.  Otherwise  the  writer  can  only  speak  of  his  character, 
and  the  admirable  qualities  which  gave  him  prominence  in  busi- 
ness and  in  private  life.  First  as  to  his  breadth  of  views  as  banker. 
The  Drexel  houses  are  money-furnishing  establishments,  their 
principal  transactions  being  to  supply  capital  for  individual  and 
corporate  enterprises  or  needs — for  government  use,  national, 
State  and  municipal — and  for  times  of  public  emergency.  In  all 
such  negotiations,  but  especially  those  of  a  large  or  public  nature, 
Mr.  Anthony  Drexel  had  a  quick  and  intuitive  perception,  his  mind 
taking  in  all  the  prominent  bearings  of  the  proposition  at  once, 
and  enabling  him  to  decide  promptly  what  ought  or  ought  not  to 
be  done ;  and  with  him  what  should  be  done  took  notice  not  only 
of  the  interest  of  his  own  banks,  butyust  and  generous  regard  for 
the  interests  of  the  client  and  for  the  public  also,  whenever  the 
negotiation  had  its  public  side.  If  it*was  an  occasion  when  solvent 
business  men  or  fiduciary  institutions  were  hard  pressed  or  might 
be  compelled  to  suspend  or  break  owing  to  panic  in  the  money 
market,  the  means  were  furnished  to  save  the  men  or  the  institu- 
tions from  breaking  or  discredit.  Mr.  Drexel  had  many  times 
done  this  under  all  sorts  of  circumstances,  from  the  humblest  to 
those  involving  safety  or  ruin  to  very  large  corporations,  where  if 
the  relief  had  not  been  extended,  there  would  have  been  peril  of 
widespread  disaster.  For  all  such  matters  he  had  instinctive  in 
sight,  the  broadest  view,  and  the  quickest  decision. 


A.    J.    DREXEL.  189 

The  Drexel  houses  have  supplied  and  placed  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars  in  government,  corporation,  railroad,  and  other 
loans  and  securities.  These  securities  are  placed  for  invest- 
ment ;  they  have  no  dealings  with  speculative  bonds  or  stocks. 
Sound  and  sure  transactions  are  the  invariable  rule.  Along  with 
safety  the  honor  of  their  banking  houses  for  fair  dealing  is  main- 
tained on  the  highest  plane.  An  illustration  of  this  occurred  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war  in  1870.  A  large  num- 
ber of  travellers  and  tourists  having  Drexel  letters  of  credit  were 
at  the  time  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  France,  and  elsewhere  on  the 
continent,  cut  off  from  communication  and  compelled  to  remain 
where  they  were,  because  the  railways  and  telegraphs  were  seized 
for  exclusive  government  use. 

In  this  emergency  Mr.  Drexel  directed  a  large  amount  of  gold 
to  be  sent  to  Geneva  and  other  places  on  the  continent  to  protect 
their  letters  of  credit,  and  authorized  the  holders  of  them,  wherever 
they  were,  to  draw  through  the  local  banks,  in  francs  or  sterling 
or  marks  or  dollars,  as  would  be  most  available,  to  them.  This 
cost  the  Drexels  a  great  deal  of  money,  but  it  gave  instant  relief 
to  the  holders  of  their  letters,  and  shows  the  high  standard  of 
credit  they  set  for  their  house.  This  spirit  of  scrupulously  honor- 
able dealing  characteristic  of  Mr.  Drexel  was  shown  in  all  transac- 
tions, including  the  treatment  and  preferment  of  the  employes  of 
the  several  houses. 

In  the  promotion  of  all  good  works,  in  Philadelphia  especially, 
Mr.  Drexel  was  always  among  the  very  foremost,  and  was  relied 
upon  usually  as  the  person  to  take  the  lead ;  and  this  he  did  with 
generous  heart  &nd  full  hand,  whenever  a  charitable  or  benevolent 
purpose  was  to  be  helped — an  educational,  art,  scientific,  or  indus- 
trial institution  or  enterprise  to  be  encouraged — or  any  project  for 
the  general  welfare  was  to  be  advanced.  A  catalogue  of  instances 
illustrating  this  would  be  very  long  indeed. 

Mr.  Drexel  presented  to  the  city  of  Chicago  a  magnificent  foun- 
tain, to  be  placed  on  the  "  Drexel  Boulevard,"  a  noble  avenue 


T  gO  A.    J.    DREXEL. 

named  in  honor  of  his  father.  The  fountain  was  designed  to  be 
a  memorial  to  their  father,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  bronze  statue 
eight  feet  high  of  'the  late  Francis  M.  Drexel. 

In  all  matters  outside  of  his  business,  in  which  he  is  strong  and 
incisive,  Mr.  Drexel  is  one  of  the  most  retiring  and  unpretentious 
of  men,  disliking  everything  in  the  nature  of  display  or  self-asser- 
tion. His  habits  are  of  the  quietest  kind,  with  a  strong  inclination 
to  art,  especially  in  music — both  brothers  being  expert  musicians. 
No  one  observing  his  quiet  demeanor  could  suppose  that  he  is  the 
great  banker,  whose  name  is  like  gold  and  inspires  confidence 
everywhere,  who  has  been  sought  for  to  accept  the  highest  fidu- 
ciary positions,  and  who  has  declined  the  high  financial  office  of 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

Beside  his  handsome  home  in  Philadelphia  Mr.  Drexel  has  a 
beautiful  country  house  at  Bryn  Mawr,  near  that  of  Mr.  Childs. 
The  friendship  existing  between  Mr.  Childs  and  Mr.  Drexel  is  of 
the  closet  and  most  enduring  nature.  They  have  worked  together 
in  all  good  works  for  years  in  Philadelphia,  and  whatever  one  finds 
at  his  hands  to  do  the  other  is  ready  to  adopt  as  his  nearest  duty. 
Mr.  Childs,  in  reply  to  the  question  of  an  intimate  friend,  who 
wished  to  know  what  he  intended  to  do  with  the  Ledger  in  his 
will,  thus  makes  allusion  to  his  friend : 

"At  my  death  I  hope  to  have  an  opportunity  to  repay  in  some 
degree  the  kindness  of  my  more  than  friend,  A.  J.  Drexel.  When 
I  was  young  and  few  knew  me  he  came  forward  and  offered  to  put 
money  in  my  paper,  and  to  interfere  in  no  way  with  it.  Our 
friendship  has  been  more  than  that  of  brothers  ever  since.  It  has 
been  my  pleasure  to  pay  him  a  handsome  revenue  on  his  invest- 
ment every  year,  but  his  kindness  I  can  never  repay.  His  son  is 
imbued  with  my  ideas  of  newspaper  work,  and  I  shall  leave  my 
paper  to  him." 

Mr.  Drexel  is  said  to  be  the  wealthiest  man  in  Pennsylvania;  his 
capital  is  larger  than  that  of  all  the  banks  of  Philadelphia  com- 
bined. 


GEORGE   LAW. 

GEORGE  LAW,  through  his  mechanical  skill,  is  one  of  the  rich 
men  who  have  conferred  a  work  of  inestimable  value  upon  the  citi- 
zens of  New  York.  As  the  builder  of  the  greater  portion  of  the 
Croton  Aqueduct,  and  the  constructor  of  the  High  Bridge  at  Har- 
lem, he  has  indelibly  linked  his  name  with  the  best  interests  of  the 
city :  successful  bridge-builders  ever  deserve  to  be  ranked  among 
the  benefactors  of  mankind,  and  George  Law  was  one  of  the 
highest  grade  in  his  profession.  Born  in  Jackson,  Washington 
county,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  October  25,  1806,  he  was  the 
youngest  of  three  sons ;  his  father  was  a  farmer,  and  his  fate  the 
common  fate  of  farmers'  boys  seventy  or  eighty  years  ago :  plenty 
of  hard  work  and  very  little  schooling.  At  an  age  when  many 
city  children  are  kept  in  the  nursery  little  George  was  driving  cows 
to  pasture,  and  doing  all  of  those  out-of-door  chores  which  it  is 
possible  for  a  child  of  eight  years  old  to  perform :  increasing 
the  circle  and  laboriousness  of  his  work  as  the  years  passed  on. 
No  vacations  for  him ;  he  often  used  to  say  himself  of  those  old 
days  that  he  "  never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  idle."  Nor  did  he 
regret  this  ;  habit  is  second  nature,  and  he  never  in  after  life  wished 
to  be  idle.  This  ploughing,  and  planting,  and  reaping,  with  the 
care  of  cattle,  lasted  until  the  lad  was  eighteen  ;  then  he  made  up 
his  mind  it  must  cease ;  "  he  could  not  spend  all  his  life  on  a  farm." 
This  state  of  mind  had  not  sprung  up  suddenly  nor  altogether 
spontaneously ;  he  had  enjoyed  a  few  terms  at  the  winter  school, 
had  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  had  acquired  the  elements  of 
arithmetic ;  he  was  very  fond  of  reading,  and  having  exhausted 
the  few  books  in  his  father's  domicile,  borrowed  all  he  could  from 
the  neighbors ;  among  these  were  some  books  of  travel,  which 

(190 


I92  GEORGE     LAW. 

gave  him  ideas  of  the  new  and  strange  things  to  be  seen  outside 
the  limits  of  his  daily  experience :  the  vague  desires  thus  aroused 
within  him  were  brought  to  a  climax  by  a  short  visit  which  he 
made,  on  business  for  his  father,  to  the  city  of  Troy.  In  1821 
Troy  was  an  insignificant  place,  in  comparison  with  its  present 
size  and  business  importance,  but  to  the  totally  inexperienced  lad 
of  fifteen,  who  had  never  seen  a  paved  street  or  a  continuous  row 
of  houses  before,  it  seemed  a  magnificent  city ;  his  wonder  and 
admiration  of  all  that  he  beheld  there  fixed  his  intention  to  aban- 
don farming  and  seek  some  other  mode  of  support ;  but  according 
to  the  old  custom  he  had  still  six  years  of  service  due  to  his  father. 
Undismayed  by  the  fact  that  he  would  not  be  "free"  till  he  was 
twenty-one,  he  began  to  save  every  cent  he  could  secure  by  doing 
work  for  neighbors  or  selling  some  little  product  of  his  own,  and 
at  the  end  of  three  years  he  found  himself  the  happy  possessor 
of  forty  dollars:  this  looked  to  him  like  a  large  sum  with  which  to 
go  out  into  the  world  and  defy  fate. 

Young  Law  was  quite  resolved  on  the  course  he  meant  to  pur- 
sue ;  the  only  obstacle  that  looked  formidable  to  him  was  the  pre- 
sumed opposition  of  his  father ;  but  he  decided  to  meet  this  by 
promising  to  "  pay  for  his  time  "  so  soon  as  he  was  able  to  earn 
the  money.  Fortunately  his  father  took  a  sensible  view  of  the 
situation,  and  gave  his  consent  without  much  difficulty.  Of  course, 
knowing  no  other  place,  George  set  out  for  Troy:  the  distance 
was  thirty-six  miles,  and  this  he  determined  to  walk,  not  deeming 
it  prudent  to  break  his  forty  dollars  to  pay  stage  fare.  The  day 
he  had  settled  upon  for  his  journey  opened  with  a  violent  rain- 
storm, but  in  spite  of  earnest  dissuasions  he  declined  to  postpone 
his  start,  and  actually  set  off  in  the  face  of  a  heavy  rain,  and 
plodded  over  the  miry  roads  until  he  reached  the  city  of  his  hopes 
— the  fairyland  of  his  imagination  of  which  he  had  dreamed  day 
and  night  for  three  long  years.  The  denouement  would  not  seem 
very  romantic  to  thejeunesse  doree  of  the  present  time. 

Putting  up  at  the  cheapest  hotel  he  could  find  he  set  out  imme- 


GEORGE     LAW.  193 

diately  to  look  for  work;  his  aim  was  not  to  escape  hand  labor,  but 
only  to  find  enough  of  it  to  do ;  as  he  knew  no  trade  he  could 
not  pick  and  choose,  but  was  ready  to  accept  anything  which  of- 
fered. He  first  looked  among  the  canal  boats  and  then  the 
machine  shops;  day  after  day  passed,  but  nobody  ''wanted  a  hand." 
He  was  not  entirely  discouraged  but  was  getting  very  anxious, 
when  happening  to  pass  along  River  street,  where  there  was  some 
building  going  on,  one  of  the  hod-carriers  fell  from  a  ladder  and 
broke  his  leg ;  most  persons  would  have  been  repelled  after  wit- 
nessing such  an  accident  from  entering  upon  the  dangerous  work, 
but  young  George  Law  rather  looked  upon  it  as  a  providential 
opening  in  his  favor :  he  immediately  asked  the  foreman  if  he 
could  have  the  man's  place.  Finding  that  this  new  applicant  had 
never  been  accustomed  to  such  work  he  warned  him  that  he 
"  would  most  likely  break  his  neck  ;  "  but  finding  that  he  was  not 
to  be  deterred  by  fear  of  any  risks  he  concluded  to  try  him,  offer- 
ing him  one  dollar  per  day.  And  the  rich  George  Law  used  often 
to  say  in  later  life,  "  It  was  thus  I  began  literally  at  the  very  foot 
of  the  ladder,  and  I  tell  you  I  was  terribly  afraid  I  should  fall  be- 
fore getting  through  that  first  day's  work ; "  but  he  persevered, 
and  continued  on  the  job  until  the  house  was  finished ;  and  then 
hearing  that  there  was  similar  work  to  be  had  at  a  place  called 
Housic,  he  went  over  there  and  procured  another  engagement. 
His  employer  noticed  his  caution,  promptitude,  and  faithfulness, 
and  believing  he  was  not  meant  to  carry  a  hod  all  his  days  began 
to  teach  him  the  art  of  bricklaying ;  this  was  a  benefit  to  him,  but 
when  the  house  was  completed  there  was  no  money  forthcoming, 
the  contractor  having  failed,  and  in  consequence  of  this  mishap 
young  Law  had  to  leave  the  place  with  his  own  board  bill  unpaid. 
He,  however,  immediately  returned  to  Troy,  procured  work  there 
as  a  bricklayer  at  better  wages,  and  as  soon  as  he  had  earned 
money  enough  he  walked  back  to  Housic,  twenty-two  miles,  paid 
his  bill,  walked  back  again,  and  resumed  his  work. 

Whatever  George  Law  did  he  tried  to  do  it.  as  well  as  it  was 
'3 


jg4  GEORGE     LAW. 

possible  to  be  done ;  he  improved  so  much  in  his  new  trade,  that 
in  a  few  months  he  was  able  to  earn  $1.75  per  day;  he  observed 
closely,  and  there  was  nothing  in  the  way  of  work  done  in  his 
presence  that  he  did  not  learn  how  it  was  done.  For  seven  long 
years  it  was  still  hand  labor  and  day's  wages.  He  could  and  did 
save  something  every  year,  though  in  this  trade  there  were  neces- 
sarily weeks  when  work  could  not  be  prosecuted  on  account  of  the 
severe  cold  and  frosts.  But  he  indulged  in  no  vices,  lived  econo- 
mically, dressed  respectably  but  not  expensively,  and  when  he 
travelled  from  one  place  to  another  in  search  of  work,  he  almost 
invariably  walked;  his  sole  luxury  was  books,  and  those  which 
would  give  him  some  insight  into  the  builder's  art  were  freely 
bought  and  perused  with  enthusiasm ;  he  did  not  mean  to  be 
always  a  day-laborer. 

In  1833  Mr.  Law  married  Miss  Sarah  Anderson,  of  Philadel- 
phia, a  lady  in  every  way  calculated  to  encourage  and  stimulate 
his  business  enterprise,  as  well  as  making  home  a  happy  and  quiet 
retreat  from  the  toils  and  excitements  of  business.  He  made 
contracts  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  so  good  was 
his  judgment  that  we  have  failed  to  find  any  instance  in  which  he 
did  not  derive  a  good  profit  from  his  work. 

Mr.  Law's  fir,st  bridge  contract  was  for  the  structure  which 
spans  the  Lehigh  river  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania ;  and  on  the  com- 
pletion of  this,  he  was  for  several  subsequent  years  engaged  on 
the  upper  division  of  the  Lehigh  canal,  between  White  Haven  and 
Mauch  Chunk.  These  both  proved  very  profitable  contracts;  his 
wealth  grew  with  his  reputation  for  skill  and  thoroughness,  so  that 
it  got  to  be  a  common  saying  in  the  several  regions  where  he  was 
known,  that  "if  George  Law  puts  in  a  bid,  he's  sure  to  get  the 
contract."  In  1837  ne  was  approaching  the  great  work  which  was 
to  make  him  famous,  not  only  in  New  York  but  wherever  aque- 
ducts and  bridges  are  heard  of.  In  1837  he  put  in  bids  for  three 
sections  of  the  Croton  aqueduct.  Like  every  other  great  public 
wprk  in  the  metropolis,  the  control  of  this  fell  more  or  less  under 


GEORGE    LAW.  195 

the  influence  of  politicians,  yet,  in  despite  of  this  fact,  Mr.  Law, 
who  was  then  a  comparative  stranger  in  New  York,  and  had  no 
political  influence  there,  was  awarded  two  of  these  sections,  on  his 
reputation  as  a  master  workman  alone ;  when  this  contract  was 
filled,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  commissioners,  he  made  his 
great  bid  for  the  construction  of  the  High  Bridge.  This  magnifi- 
cent work,  which,  it  was  foreseen,  would  prove  the  fortune  of  the 
builder  who  should  successfully  complete  it,  was  a  prize  worth 
struggling  for.  A  host  of  competitors  appeared,  anxious  to  secure 
the  award,  which,  it  is  needless  to  repeat,  that  Mr.  Law  carried 
off,  though  many  of  his  rivals  were  far  richer,  and  in  a  general  way 
more  influential  than  he.  Merit,  in  this  case,  had  its  due  reward. 
This  enormous  mass  of  masonry,  elegant  in  its  strength,  can 
only  be  compared  to  the  finest  works  of  ancient  Rome's  palmiest 
days ;  it  required  ten  years  for  its  completion ;  water  being  let  into 
the  aqueduct  and  introduced  to  the  city  in  1849. 

Though  now  possessing  a  surplusage  of  wealth  Mr.  Law  could 
not  remain  inactive.  He  turned  his  attention  to  banking  and  rail- 
road stocks.  His  first  essay  in  this  direction  was  the  rescue  of  the 
old  Dry  Dock  Bank  from  threatened  insolvency ;  he  interested 
himself  in  its  misfortunes,  was  elected  to  the  presidency,  and,  by 
skillful  and  careful  manipulation,  restored  its  credit  to  a  sound 
basis. 

In  1852  Mr.  Law  commenced  a  new  enterprise  in  building  the 
Eighth  Avenue  Horse  Railroad,  in  New  York  city,  and  later  the 
Ninth  Avenue  Road ;  in  regard  to  this  there  was  a  good  deal  of 
finessing  before  it  attained  a  firm  financial  standing.  Another 
profitable  trade  was  his  purchase  of  the  Staten  Island  Ferry,  in 
1859,  for  which  he  paid  $60,000,  selling  out  five  years  later  at  a 
very  large  profit.  He  also  held  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
Roosevelt  Street  Ferry,  and  the  Grand  Street  Ferry,  both  running 
between  New  York  and  the  Eastern  District  of  Brooklyn.  Mr. 
Law's  judgment  as  to  what  would  pay  appeared  to  be  almost  in- 
fallible. In  general  he  kept  out  of  politics.  In  1856  the  New  York 


1 96  GEORGE     LAW. 

Herald  nominated  him  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  but  this 
movement  collapsed,  and  that  was  the  end  of  Mr.  Law's  political 
career.  Mr.  Thurlow  Weed,  who  was  necessarily  something  of  a 
literary  critic,  was  ever  ready  to  cite  the  fact,  that  three  of  the 
most  successful  men  in  the  United  States  (considered  as  money- 
getters)  were  extremely  illiterate;  these  he  named  as  Commodore 
Vanderbilt,  Dean  Richmond  and  George  Law,  and  since  the  furore 
of  "  Civil  Service  Reform,"  he  was  fond  of  remarking,  that  "  if 
either  of  them  had  been  called  to  undergo  a  competitive  examina- 
tion, even  for  night-watchmen  in  the  custom  house,  or  the  hum- 
blest place  as  letter-carriers,  they  could  not  have  obtained  it;" 
adding,  "  I  have  letters  from  all  of  these  gentlemen,  in  which  not  a 
word  containing  three  syllables  was  spelled  correctly."  George 
Law  was  a  man  of  strong  build ;  he  was  not  polished ;  but  he 
looked  what  he  was — a  man  of  brains!  His  mind  was  concen- 
trated on  money-making,  and  his  great  will  power  enabled  him  to 
overcome  formidable  difficulties ;  he  would  hardly  be  considered  a 
genial  man,  being  usually  very  reticent  and  not  fond  of  society, 
unless  he  could  turn  it  to  account.  He  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy- 
six;  his  death  occurring  in  November,  1882,  at  his  residence  in 
Fifth  avenue.  His  estate  was  approximately  estimated  at  from 

$1  2,OOO,OOO  tO  $1  5,OOO,OOO. 


HORACE  GREELEY. 

HORACE  GREELEY  was  one  of  the  most  peculiar  men  that  ever 
sustained  public  relations  with  the  American  people.  He  was 
peculiar  in  his  mental  constitution,  and  in  his  personal  appearance, 
and  in  his  manners ;  and  his  temperament  appeared  to  change 
with  surrounding  circumstances:  being  sometimes  mild  and  gentle; 
then  again  passionate,  unreasonable,  abusive.  His  character  has 
'never  yet  been  carefully  analyzed  :  he  had  too  many  friends  and 
too  many  enemies,  and  the  writers  who  have  hitherto  discussed  his 
various  qualities  wrote  either  during  his  life  or  too  soon  after  his 
death  to  be  wholly  cool  and  dispassionate. 

Horace  Greeley  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  being  born 
at  Amherst  on  the  3d  of  February,  1811.  His  father,  Zaccheus, 
was  of  English  stock  ;  his  mother,  Mary  Woodburn,  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent:  the  Greeley  and  Woodburn  farms  being  contiguous, 
probably  led  to  the  marriage  of  Horace  Greeley's  parents.  Neither 
of  these  parties  had  any  property  to  commence  with,  and  Zaccheus 
Greeley  never  acquired  any  considerable  amount.  Hence  the  boys 
in  the  family  were  early  set  to  work,  and  hardly  knew  what  leisure 
or  recreation  meant.  The  Greeley  ancestors  had  a  reputation  for 
tenacity ;  his  immediate  elders  had  evidently  too  much  in  one  di- 
rection :  holding  on  to  a  rough,  hard,  unprofitable  farming  country, 
instead  of  seeking  betimes  to  better  their  condition  by  emigrating 
from  the  "Granite  State."  As  Horace  says,  in  his  autobiography, 
"  picking  stones  is  a  never  ending  labor  on  one  of  those  New 
England  farms,"  and  the  little  white-haired  boy  had  more  than 
enough  of  this  to  do ;  but  Horace  was  a  precocious  child,  and  he 
had  a  mother  who  took  pleasure  in  reciting  to  him  songs,  ballads, 
and  stories,  so  that  he  had  ceally  acquired  a  taste  for  literature 


j  ng  HORACE     GREELEY. 

before  the  age  at  which  many  children  conquer  the  alphabet.  At 
the  infantile  age  of  three  he  went  to  school — in  bad  weather  hav- 
ing to  be  carried  on  his  father's  shoulder — but  he  had  learned  to 
read  even  before  this :  sitting  by  or  before  his  mother,  with  the 
book  on  her  lap,  while  she  sewed  or  knitted.  The  book  was  often 
misplaced,  and  the  child  learned  to  read  with  it  sideways  or  upside 
down  almost  as  well  as  when  properly  placed,  an  accomplishment 
which  came  to  his  aid  when  he  first  took  up  a  composing  stick  and 
began  to  set  type  :  the  reading  of  printer's  matter  was  never  any 
mystery  to  him.  It  is  surprising  to  think  how  early  and  how  de- 
cidedly this  descendant  of  "  mostly  blacksmiths  and  farmers  "  made 
up  his  mind  to  be  a  printer ;  and  for  this  business  he  possessed 
another  natural  qualification — he  was  a  perfect  prodigy  at  spelling  ; 
indeed,  we  think  the  ancient  Dogberry  must  have  known  such  an 
one  when  he  gave  his  judicial  opinion,  that  "  to  be  well  favored  is 
the  gift  of  fortune,  but  to  write  and  read  comes  by  nature."  It 
certainly  came  very  near  to  that  in  Horace  Greeley's  case.  Such 
an  excellent  reputation  did  he  obtain  for  correct  scholarship  and 
good  conduct,  that  the  school  authorities  in  the  town  of  Bedford, 
which  was  beyond  his  legal  school  district,  passed  a  unanimous 
vote  "  that  no  pupils  from  other  towns  should  be  received  into  the 
school  except  Horace  Greeley  alone  :  "  so  far  as  we  know  an  un- 
precedented compliment  to  a  New  Hampshire  schoolboy. 

When  Horace  was  about  nine  years  old  he  persistently  reiter- 
ated his  intention  to  learn  the  printer's  trade;  but  in  1820-21  his 
father  removed  to  Westhaven,  in  Vermont,  on  to  another  poor 
farm,  and  the  services  of  the  boy  could  not  be  dispensed  with. 
All  the  money  he  could  procure  he  spent  in  books,  brought  by 
peddlers  to  the  door.  His  savings,  of  course,  were  very  small, 
but  he  generally  had  something  on  hand  to  sell ;  wild  honey  which 
he  had  found  in  the  woods,  nuts  which  he  had  gathered,  or  kind- 
ling wood,  consisting  of  pitch  pine-knots,  and  such  homely  articles. 
The  family  took  one  weekly  newspaper,  and  through  this  single 
medium  the  future  editor  of  the  Tribune  found  a  link  with  the  out- 


HORACE    GREELEY. 


I99 


side  world.  In  this  paper  he  one  day  read  an  advertisement  of 
"A  Boy  Wanted  "  in  a  newspaper  office.  This  rekindled  his  old 
desires,  and  without  delay  he  started  for  the  place,  nine  miles  dis- 
tant, walking  all  the  way,  only  to  be  disappointed  in  the  end :  the 
publisher  said  he  was  "  too  young."  In  fact,  he  was  but  eleven 
years  old,  and  not  either  large  or  strong  for  his  age,  and  with  a 
peculiarly  innocent,  infantile  look.  As  in  his  fifteenth  year  he  felt 
that  he  could  endure  this  sterile  sort  of  farming  no  longer,  he  at 
last  procured  from  his  father  a  reluctant  consent  that  he  should 
definitely  seek  employment  as  a  printer.  He  found  the  longed- 
for  opportunity  at  East  Poultney,  Vermont,  in  the  office  of  the 
Northern  Spectator,  and  this  time  he  walked  eleven  miles  to  obtain 
his  first  interview  with  the  publisher.  With  this  man  an  agree- 
ment was  made  for  Horace  to  remain  as  an  apprentice  until  he 
was  twenty  years  of  age,  and  on  terms  which  would  look  very 
hard  to  the  youth  of  this  day.  All  the  money  he  received  was 
forty  dollars  a  year  for  clothing,  and  out  of  this  it  was  quite  certain 
he  bought  many  books  and  very  little  else  for  himself.  Here  at 
least  he  had  some  associations  calculated  to  encourage  his  thirst 
for  knowledge.  He  read  thfe  exchange  papers,  joined  a  debating 
club,  and  occasionally  heard  political  speakers;  and,  though  he 
had  to  work  on  an  old  Ramage  press,  and  was  frequently  exces- 
sively fatigued  after  his  day's  work,  he  was  never  satisfied  to  retire 
until  he  had  spent  some  hours  in  study,  and,  having  naturally  a 
good  memory,  he  was  gradually  storing  up  all  sorts  of  miscel- 
laneous information,  which  helped  to  make  him  a  full  and  ready 
writer  when  the  right  time  came  to  use  this  pot-pourri  of  knowl- 
edge, for  in  his  circumstance  there  was  no  opportunity  for  the 
systematic  study  of  selected  subjects.  In  the  debating  club  his 
extraordinary  memory  gave  him  a  great  advantage,  for  he  could 
always  back  up  his  opinions  with  facts,  figures  and  anecdotes, 
while  many  of  his  seniors  were  wildly  racking  their  brains  to  re- 
cover a  name,  a  date,  or  some  fact,  once  known,  but  long  escaped 
into  the  limbo  of  forgotten  things.  Most  of  the  members  were 


200  HORACE     GREELEY. 

much  older  than  Horace,  but  knowledge  proved  power  in  that 
circle,  and  he  was  always  listened  to  with  respect.  In  other  posi- 
tions his  scanty  wardrobe,  unfashionable  clothes  and  generally  outre 
appearance  often  excited  derisive  comment.  If  he  knew  this, 
which  is  doubtful,  he  never  betrayed  any  consciousness  of  the  fact. 
His  annual  salary  of  forty  dollars  would  have  gone  far  in  that 
place  to  have  enabled  him  to  make  a  presentable  appearance  had 
he  spent  it  on  himself,  but  instead  of  this  he  sent  nearly  the  whole 
of  it  to  his  father,  who  was  ever  in  need  of  money.  During  his 
apprenticeship  he  visited  his  parents  twice,  going  a  distance  of  six 
hundred  miles,  from  Poultney,  Vermont,  to  the  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies  (for  his  father  had  removed  to  Pennsylvania),  most  of  the 
way  on  foot,  except  when  he  could  get  a  lift  of  a  canal-boat  or  an 
invitation  to  ride  from  some  good-natured  farmer.  Should  such 
another  youth  as  Horace  Greeley  then  was  now  appear  upon  any 
of  our  highways,  dusty,  shabby  and  travel-worn,  he  would  un- 
doubtedly be  stigmatized  as  "a  tramp,"  and  be  avoided  by  all 
decent  people. 

In  the  summer  of  1830  the  Spectator  collapsed,  and  the  office  was 
closed  ;  and  thus  young  Greeley  terminated  his  apprenticeship  some 
months  earlier  than  his  engagement  designated.  With  a  wardrobe 
that  could  be  tied  in  a  handkerchief,  some  knowledge  of  printing  and 
a  sore  leg  (which  his  brother  said  "he  spent  all  his  time  in  doctor- 
ing") he  reached  home;  not,  however,  to  remain  long.  His  next 
engagement  was  on  a  paper  at  Sodus,  Wayne  county,  New  York, 
at  eleven  dollars  a  month.  This  was  a  political  paper,  advocating 
Democracy  and  General  Jackson  for  President.  For  some  reason 
he  soon  made  another  change,  this  time  for  the  better,  financially, 
as  he  received  fifteen  dollars  a  month,  though  on  his  first  applica- 
tion at  the  office  of  the  Gazette  (a  weekly  paper)  at  Erie,  Pennsyl- 
vania, his  services  were  declined  simply  on  account  of  his  rustic 
appearance.  But  by  this  time  Horace  was  not  so  verdant  as  he 
looked,  and,  persevering  in  his  application,  he  asked  the  favor  of 
being  taken  "on  trial,"  and  the  result  was  that  he  gave  perfect 


HORACE     GREELEY.  2OI 

satisfaction,  remaining  seven  months  on  the  Gazette,  and  then  left 
voluntarily  to  try  his  fortunes  in  New  York.  If  the  uncouth  ap- 
pearance of  the  incipient  editor  had  proved  a  hindrance  in  the 
country  offices  of  Vermont  and  Pennsylvania,  it  may  readily  be 
imagined  what  an  effect  he  produced  upon  the  supercritical 
"  typos  "  of  the  metropolis. 

Mr.  Greeley  was,  on  his  first  entrance  in  New  York,  August 
i  ;th,  1831,  about  twenty  years  of  age,  tall,  slim,  pale,  with  flaxen 
locks  and  a  pale  blue  eye,  and  he  always  had  a  habit  of  wearing 
his  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head,  as  if  accustomed  to  star-gazing, 
which  gave  him,  even  late  in  life,  a  peculiarly  "green  "  look,  espe- 
cially as  this  was  accompanied  with  a  sort  of  shuffling  gait,  which 
appeared  to  betray  an  indecision  of  purpose.  The  writer  has 
often  seen  him  while  editor  of  the  Tribune,  on  Park  Row,  with  his 
pockets  stuffed  full  of  papers,  his  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head  like 
a  sailor  about  to  ascend  the  ratlines,  with  his  spectacles  slipping 
off,  his  boots  trodden  down  one-sided,  sometimes  with  one  leg  of 
his  pantaloons  in  his  boot,  and  altogether  looking  like  a  natural 
victim  of  whom  "  a  sharp  "  might  with  impunity  play  his  little  game 
of  "  drop."  But  let  any  one  who  knew  Horace  just  try  to  imagine 
with  what  an  avalanche  of  expletives  any  mistaken  rogue  would 
have  been  greeted,  had  he  made  such  an  attempt ! 

It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Greeley  was  still  assisting  his  parents 
with  remittances,  for  with  his'  correct  and  temperate  habits  there 
seemed  no  other  explanation  of  why  he  should  have  come  to  the 
city  without  a  respectable  suit  of  clothes,  and  all  his  personal 
effects  in  a  handkerchief.  This  sort  of  economy  may  be  carried 
too  far,  as  it  was  in  his  case;  preventing  him  from  getting  a  situa- 
tion, which  a  more  respectable  appearing  person  might  have  ob- 
tained. The  late  David  Hale,  editor  of  the  Journal  of  Commerce, 
to  whom  he  applied  for  work,  took  him  for  a  runaway  apprentice, 
and  plainly  told  him  that  he  "  knew  he  was."  David  Hale  lived  to 
appreciate  to  the  full  the  mistake  he  made,  yet  he  was  not  to 
blame  for  the  very  natural  suspicion  ;  probably  many  others  to 


2Q2  HORACE     GREELEY. 

whom  Mr.  Greeley  applied,  and  who  refused  to  employ  him, 
thought  the  same,  if  they  did  not  express  it.  In  his  search  for  a 
boarding-house  he  met  with  a  somewhat  similar  experience.  At 
the  first  house  where  he  applied,  on  Wall  street,  on  asking  the 
terms,  the  answer  was  "  Six  dollars  a  week,  but  something  cheaper 
will  probably  suit  you  better."  And  it  did;  he  wandered  over  to 
the  north  side  and  found,  he  said,  "at  168  West  street,  the  sign  of 
1  Boarding'  on  an  humbler  edifice  ;  I  entered,  and  was  offered  shel- 
ter and  subsistence  for  $2.50  per  week,  which  seemed  more 
rational,  and  I  closed  the  bargain."  In  his  ramblings  in  search  of 
work,  he  visited  every  office  of  prominence  and  nearly  all  the 
others  he  could  discover,  but  nowhere  met  the  slightest  encour- 
agement. He  had  only  ten  dollars  on  his  arrival,  and  that  would 
not  pay  board  for  long,  and  his  clothes  were  of  thin  summer 
goods ;  he  was  tired  and  discouraged,  and  had  about  made  up  his 
mind  to  leave  the  city :  but  on  the  Sunday  some  young  men  call- 
ing at  the  boarding-house  hearing  that  he  was  a  printer  looking 
for  work,  one  of  them  took  enough  interest  in  him  to  direct  him 
to  the  jobbing  office  of  Mr.  John  T.  West,  over  McElrath  & 
Bangs,  publishers,  at  68  Chatham  street.  Fortunately,  at  this 
time  the  late  Mr.  Ashael  Jones,  formerly  of  the  firm  of  "  Jones, 
White  &  McCurdy,"  dealers  in  "  dental  supplies,"  and  still  later, 
owner  of  the  Clarendon  Hotel  at  Saratoga,  was  at  work  at  West's  ; 
he  had  been  a  fellow-apprentice  with  Horace  Greeley  at  Poultney, 
Vt.  When  the  latter,  early  on  Monday  morning,  entered  the 
office  in  search  of  work,  a  mutual  recognition  of  the  fellow-appren- 
tices occurred.  The  proprietor  was  not  in  at  the  time ;  but  Jones, 
printer  fashion,  threw  off  his  apron,  and  told  his  old  chum  to  "take 
his  case."  When  Mr.  West  came  in  he  was  struck  with  amaze- 
ment to  see  the  sort  of  new  hand  he  had  at  work ;  the  foreman 
informing  him  that  it  was  "  a  man  Jones  had  put  on."  "  Well, 
clear  him  out,"  said  West,  "  I  won't  have  such  a  looking  fellow  in 
the  place."  The  foreman  suggested  that  Jones  knew  him,  and  it 
would  be  best  to  wait  and  see  what  he  could  do.  The  fact  was 


HORACE     GREELEY.  2C>3 

that  the  job  in  hand  was  very  undesirable,  and  such  as  no  New 
York  compositor  cared  to  work  on:  it  was  "a  very  small  3 2 mo. 
Testament,  set  in  double  columns  of  agate  type,  each  column  only 
twelve  ems  wide,  with  a  centre  column  of  notes,  in  pearl,  scarcely 
four  ems  wide ;  the  text,  too,  was  thickly  studded  with  references, 
by  Greek  and  superior  letters,  to  the  notes,  which,  of  course,  were 
preceded  and  discriminated  by  corresponding  indices,  with  prefa- 
tory and  supplementary  remarks  on  each  book,  set  in  pearl,  and 
only  paid  for  as  agate."  This,  as  every  compositor  knows,  would 
have  been  very  trying  work  for  an  old  and  experienced  hand ;  the 
type  being  so  much  smaller  than  that  ordinarily  used  either  on 
newspaper  or  books ;  the  frequency  of  italics  and  other  changes 
of  type  added  to  the  perplexity,  so  that  it  is  no  wonder,  that  with 
all  his  care  and  anxiety  to  succeed,  his  "  first  proofs  looked  as  if 
they  had  caught  the  chicken-pox." 

Probably  young  Greeley  did  as  well  as  any  beginner  could  have 
done ;  at  least  he  was  retained  on  the  work.  But  it  was  neces- 
sarily very  slow,  and  being  sometimes  kept  waiting  for  letter,  for 
the  first 'two  or  three  weeks  he  hardly  earned  enough  to  pay  his 
board  ;  but  on  being  assured  of  the  work,  he  removed  his  lodgings 
from  West  street  to  a  place  on  the  corner  of  Chatham  and  Duane, 
so  that  he  could  be  near  the  office,  not  lose  any  time,  and  could 
work  evenings,  making  twelve  or  fourteen  hours  a  day ;  by  such 
assiduous  labor,  after  he  got  accustomed  to  the  small  type,  he 
made  about  six  dollars  a  week.  But  the  harder  he  worked,  the 
sooner  he  found  himself  out  of  a  job.  The  Testament  completed 
he  was  again  out  of  employment.  During  a  fortnight's  interim, 
before  he  found  other  work,  he  spent  the  time  alternately  seeking 
it,  and  sitting  as  a  listener  at  a  tariff  convention,  which  was  holding 
a  session  at  the  American  Institute  building,  then  situated  near 
City  Hall.  Here  undoubtedly  he  picked  up  some  ideas  afterwards 
put  to  use  in  the  Tribune.  His  next  job  was  on  a  new  magazine, 
which  soon  died  of  inanition,  and  for  which  work  he  did  not  get 
his  pay.  By  this  time  West  had  a  new  work  on  hand,  and  he  got 


204 


HORACE     GREELEY. 


"  a  case  there."  This  book  was  a  commentary  on  the  Book  of 
Genesis,  by  Rev.  George  Bush.  The  chirography  was  intolerably 
bad — almost  as  bad  as  Greeley's  came  to  be  in  time ;  but  it  was 
work,  and  he  was  glad  to  get  it,  continuing  until  its  completion, 
when  he  was  again  thrown  out.  The  difficulty  of  securing  steady 
employment  at  the  case  made  him  seriously  think  of  seeking  some 
other  source  of  support ;  but  times  were  dull,  openings  few,  and 
not  to  be  readily  had  by  a  stranger.  However,  in  January  of  1832, 
fortune  began  to  smile  upon  his  unwearied  efforts  ;  he  procured  a 
situation  on  the  Spirit  of  the  Times,  a  sporting  paper,  the  foreman 
of  which  was  Mr.  F.  V.  Story,  who  afterwards  became  his  partner. 
The  young  firm  hired  rooms  on  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Liberty 
street.  It  was  in  this  office  that  the  first  penny  paper  ever  pub- 
lished in  New  York  was  printed.  It  was  got  up  by  a  young  man 
named  Shepherd,  and  was  called  the  Morning  Post,  but  it  was 
short-lived,  and  the  principal  dependence  of  the  firm  was  the  print- 
ing of  Sylvester's  Bank-note  Reporter.  All  the  money  invested  by 
Greeley  and  Story  was  about  $240,  Mr.  George  Bruce  granting 
them  credit  for  some  additional  material.  This  first  partnership 
arrangement  of  Horace  Greeley's  was  prematurely  broken  by  the 
sudden  death  of  Mr.  Story,  who  was  .drowned  in  June,  1833.  His 
place  in  the  business  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Jonas  Winchester,  and 
early  the  next  spring  (March,  1834)  Mr.  Greeley  commenced'  his 
first  editorial  work,  the  firm  publishing  a  weekly  paper  called  the 
New  Yorker,  which  lasted  until  the  March  of  1841,  when  it  went 
under,  with  a  credit  on  its  books  of  $10,000  due  to  Mr.  Greeley  for 
editing  the  paper,  all  of  which  was  sunk  with  the  wreck.  But  the 
debts  which  the  firm  owed  to  others  troubled  him  far  more  than 
what  he  lost  in  the  concern  himself.  His  expressions  on  this  sub- 
ject are  pathetic  in  their  intensity.  "  For  my  own  part,"  he  says, 
"and  I  speak  from  sad  experience,  I  would  rather  be  a  convict  in 
State's  prison,  a  slave  in  a  rice-swamp,  than  to  pass  through  life 
under  the  harrow  of  debt.  If  you  have  but  fifty  cents,  and  can  get 
no  more  for  a  week,  buy  a  peck  of  corn,  parch  it,  and  live  on  it, 
rather  than  owe  any  man  a  dollar." 


HORACE     GREELEY.  .,  2C>5 

While  editing  the  New  Yorker,  Mr.  Greeley  was  also  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  time  supplying  editorial  articles  (sub  rosa)  to  the 
Daily  Whig,  and  since  March,  1838,  editing  a  Whig  campaign 
paper  published  at  Albany,  called  The  Jeffersonian  ;  it  was  a 
weekly,  and  was  continued  for  a  year.  No  light  task  this  to  edit 
two  papers  and  write  for  a  third,  one  of  them  at  a  distance  of  155 
miles  from  his  office  in  New  York.  For  editing  the  Jeffersonian 
Mr.  Greeley  received  $1,000  per  annum,  the  first  permanent 
reliable  salary  he  had  yet  been  able  to  command,  and  he  was  now 
nearly  thirty  years  of  age.  It  was  immediately  precedent  to  the 
Harrison  campaign,  that  Mr.  Greeley  started  on  his  own  account  a 
small  weekly  paper  called  The  Log  Cabin.  It  was  commenced  in 
May,  1840,  and  the  intention  was  to  publish  it  six  months  only, 
the  object  being  to  aid  in  the  election  of  General  William  H.  Har- 
rison to  the  Presidency.  It  appeared  simultaneously  in  Albany 
and  New  York.  Into  this  project  Horace  Greeley  threw  all  the 
spirit  and  energy  of  which  he  was  possessed  ;  it  was  lively,  and  the 
articles  short,  sharp  and  decisive.  It  was  a  success  from  the  start. 
Big  figures,  in  the  way  of  newspaper  circulation,  had  not  begun  to 
roll  up  into  the  100,000  and  over  of  modern  issues,  and  when  an 
edition  of  48,000  was  sold  of  the  first  number,  the  publishers 
could  scarcely  take  in  the  fact;  the  resources  of  the  office  were 
taxed  to  the  utmost,  and  finally,  editions  of  80,000  and  90,000  were 
reached,  a  number  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  newspaper 
printing  in  the  United  States.  The  Log  Cabin  also  outlived  its 
destined  term  of  existence,  and  the  object  for  which  it  was  pro- 
jected, surviving  the  election  of  Harrison  in  November,  1840;  it 
was  finally  merged,  in  the  spring  of  1841,  together  with  the  New 
Yorker,  into  the  Tribune,  the  first  issue  of  which  reached  the  pub- 
lic on  the  loth  of  April,  1841. 

Afraid  as  Mr.  Greeley  was  of  debt,  the  Tribune  was  founded  on 
credit.  He  had  to  borrow  $1,000  at  the  start,  and  had  only  six 
hundred  subscribers  assured;  but  it  gained  rapidly,  perhaps  the 
more  so  that  it  was  violently  attacked  by  the  editor  of  the  «S##, 


206  HORACE     GREELEY. 

then  in  the  hands  of  Moses  Y.  Beach.  The  defence  and  rejoinders 
were  equally  pungent  and  amusing,  and,  opposition  being  the  very 
aliment  upon  which  Mr.  Greeley  always  throve  best,  the  spicy  re- 
torts, and  especially  his  partisan  enthusiasm,  forced  the  attention 
of  the  public,  and  the  subscription-list  of  the  Tribune  soon  rose 
from  hundreds  to  thousands;  by  the  third  week  in  May  it  had  10,- 
ooo  names  on  its  books.  New  and  more  powerful  presses  had  to 
be  bought  to  work  off  these  large  editions.  Advertisers  came 
rushing  in,  and  it  became  absolutely  necessary  for  the  over- 
whelmed editor  to  seek  a  business  partner.  Mr.  Greeley  had  no 
gift  for  business ;  his  thoughts  were  always  flying  away  from  the 
study  of  balance-sheets  to  considerations  of  morals  or  politics  ;  he 
would  rather  discuss,  editorially,  the  finances  of  the  nation  than 
the  details  of  his  own  expenses.  The  Tribune  office  would  soon 
have  become  a  modern  spectacle  of  chaos  had  not  its  financial 
affairs  been  taken  in  hand  by  a  competent  financier.  This  good 
angel  of  the  "  profit  and  loss  "  account  was  Mr.  Thomas  McElrath, 
through  whose  efficiency  and  good  management  was  soon  brought 
order  out  of  confusion,  making  the  "Tribune  office  not  only  one 
of  the  best  conducted,  but  one  of  the  best  paying  in  the  city." 

The  Tribune  was  started  as  a  morning  penny  paper.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  a  year  it  was  somewhat  enlarged  and  the  price  raised  to  two 
cents.  In  1843  an  evening  edition  was  published,  and  in  1845  tne 
semi-weekly.  This  same  year  the  Tribune  office  was  burned  out ; 
but  that  event  did  not  interrupt  the  issue — only  delayed  it  a  few 
hours,  neighboring  presses  being  offered  to  print  the  paper  until 
new  arrangements  could  be  made  for  permanent  quarters.  For  a 
year  or  two  the  profits  were  drawn  upon  to  offset  the  loss  ;  but  the 
Tribune  was  now  an  established  fact  in  New  York,  and  the  mere 
accident  of  a  fire  could  not  affect  its  stability. 

When  the  affairs  of  the  Tribune  were  reorganized,  it  was  in  the 
form  of  an  association ;  business  experts  valued  the  establishment 
at  $100,000 — its  annual  revenue  was  $30,000.  Mr.  Greeley  was 
at  last  in  receipt  of  an  income  which  must  have  been  to  him  super- 


HORACE     GREELEY.  2O7 

fluous.  The  editorial  columns  of  the  Tribune  had  constantly  argued 
in  favor  of  the  association  of  capital  and  labor,  and  the  time  had 
now  come  to  put  this  theory  to  the  test,  to  prove  its  faith  by  its 
works.  The  Tribune  property  was  divided  into  one  hundred 
shares  of  $1,000  per  share,  each  share  carrying  with  it  one  vote 
in  the  management  of  the  company.  A  person  owning  only  one 
share  had  a  real  sense  of  ownership  in  the  building  and  in  the 
association,  but,  as  Messrs.  Greeley  and  McElrath  owned  the 
great  majority  of  shares,  the  decisions  on  every  point  remained 
practically  with  them  for  many  years. 

Besides  the  newspaper,  "Greeley  and  McElrath"  published  the 
American  Laborer,  a  monthly,  mainly  devoted  to  the  advocacy  of 
protection.  In  1868  they  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Whig 
Almanac,  since  changed  to  the  Tribune  Almanac,  which  contains  a 
mass  of  information,  statistical,  political,  etc. 

Besides  his  duties  as  editor,  Mr.  Greeley  was  frequently  in  the 
lecture-field,  and  in  1850  he  published  a  collection  of  his  addresses 
and  lectures,  entitled  "  Hints  Toward  Reform."  In  1851  he  went 
to  England  to  visit  the  great  exposition  of  that  year  in  London. 
He  was  appointed  one  of  the  judges  on  hardware ;  and,  having 
accepted  the  position,  no  one  need  be  told  that  he  did  his  best  to 
make  a  careful  and  just  award.  At  the  Richmond  banquet  he 
made  a  very  telling  speech  while  proposing  the  health  of  Joseph 
Paxton,  the  architect  of  the  Crystal  Palace.  He  was  also  a  wit- 
ness before  a  parliamentary  committee,  met  to  consider  the  repeal 
of  the  "Taxes  on  Knowledge"  bill,  as  the  duties  on  papers, 
advertisements  and  on  periodicals  was  called  by  its  opponents. 
He  travelled  on  the  continent,  but  about  as  rapidly  as  steam 
could  convey  him,  with  little  opportunity  for  obtaining  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  countries  he  passed  through,  but  nevertheless  pro- 
duced quite  a  readable  book  as  the  result  of  his  observations, 
called  "  Glances  at  Europe."  The  next  year  he  completed  and 
published  his  friend  Sargent's  "  Life  of  Henry  Clay." 

About  1852-53  Mr.  Greeley  made  large  additions  to  the  since 


208  HORACE     GREELEY. 

famous  Chappaqua  farm  in  Westchester  county,  New  York, 
where,  to  the  depletion  of  his  purse  and  the  amusement  of  his 
satirical  friends,  he  endeavored  to  put  his  theoretical  knowledge 
of  farming  into  practice ;  but  the  raising  of  cucumbers  and  beets 
did  not  absorb  his  mind  to  the  exclusion  of  literary  topics.  In 
1856  was  written  his  "  History  of  the  Struggle  for  Slavery  Exten- 
sion, or  Restriction,  in  the  United  States  from  1787  to  1856." 
Three  years  later  he  visited  California,  taking  Utah,  Kansas  and 
Pike's  Peak  on  the  way,  and,  of  course,  a  book  was  the  result  on 
his  return.  His  next  work  was  his  history  of  the  wars  of  seces- 
sion, entitled  "  The  American  Conflict,"  completed  and  published 
in  1867;  this  is  a  large  work  in  two  volumes.  Then  followed 
"  Essays  on  Political  Economy "  and  "  Recollections  of  a  Busy 
Life  " — his  own  autobiography.  Next  "  Letters  from  the  South- 
west and  Texas  "  and  "  What  I  Know  About  Farming." 

To  make  an  inventory  of  what  a  man  has  done  is  not  always  to 
justly  describe  what  a  man  is.  To  get  an  interior  view  of  Mr. 
Greeley's  life  we  must  review  briefly,  how  and  in  what  spirit  he 
edited  his  paper,  wrote  books,  addressed  audiences  and  spent  his 
money.  Though  in  the  main  a  self-impelled  man,  Mr.  Greeley's 
life  was  undoubtedly  much  influenced  by  his  wife,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  July,  1836.  She  was  a  lady  deeply  imbued  with  the  ultra- 
transcendentalism  of  the  period  ;  she  was  also  a  vegetarian,  and  so 
eccentric  in  her  views  of  life,  and  of  the  training  of  children,  as  to 
be,  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  her  best  friends,  far  from  a  healthy 
normal  condition  of  mental  health,  though  originally  of  keen  intel- 
lect and  well  educated.  Horace  Greeley  was  devoted  to  her. 
It  was,  perhaps,  in  a  measure  due  to  her  influence  that  Mr. 
Greeley  took  up  with  such  zeal  the  cause  of  Fourierism,  becoming 
a  devoted  follower  and  exponent  of  this  theory  for-  reorganizing 
society  as  explained  by  Albert  Brisbane,  who  arrived  in  New  York 
from  Paris  in  1841.  Page  after  page  of  the  Tribune  was  devoted 
to  this  subject,  until  monotony  took  the  place  of  interest,  and  sub- 
scribers  began  to  weary  as  the  novelty  wore  off,  when,  fortunately 


HORACE     GREELEV.  2OQ 

for  the  readers  of  the  Tribune,  Mr.  Greeley  entered  into  a  formal 
discussion  of  the  subject  with  his  former  assistant,  Henry  J.  Ray- 
mond, then  on  the  Courier  and  Inquirer,  and  later  known  as  the 
editor  of  the  Times.  These  pro  and  con  arguments  lasted  six. 
months ;  of  course  each  claimed  a  victory,  but  at  its  close  the  doc- 
trines of  Fourierism  were  banished  from  the  Tribune,  to  the  great 
relief  of  thousands  of  readers.  During  this  episode  Mrs.  Greeley 
united  with  the  "  Brook  Farm"  experiment,  a  Yankee  modification 
of  Fourierism  developed  in  Massachusetts.  From  this  time  for- 
ward the  Tribune  began  to  be  regarded  as  the  natural  organ  of 
all  sorts  of  isms,  but  at  the  same  time  as  a  paper  of  great  literary 
merit.  Mr.  Greeley  was  a  very  earnest  and  emphatic  writer:  there 
was  nothing  vague  in  his  style ;  it  was  impossible  to  mistake  his 
meaning ;  he  had  positive  opinions  on  all  subjects  upon  which  he 
touched.  Hence,  he  drew  devoted  followers  and  admirers  on  the 
one  side,  while  exciting  the  most  bitter  opposition  from  the  uncon- 
vinced. The  first  political  frenzy  of  the  Tribune  was  "  Clay  and 
Protection,"  arid  with  this,  and  made  of  almost  equal  consequence, 
was  "Irish  Repeal,"  "Mesmerism,"  "Advocacy  of  the  Water-. 
Cure,"  "Phrenology,"  and  "Anti-Capital  Punishment."  Mr.  Gree- 
ley opposed  the  Mexican  war,  the  Native  American  party,  Trini- 
tarianism,  and  the  Drama !  He  was  the  most  pugnacious  of  edi- 
tors, and  was  much  stronger  in  a  fight  than  when  unopposed.  In 
1848  he  was  elected  a  representative  to  Congress.  He  had  hardly 
taken  time  to  shake  off  the  dust  from  his  journey  to  Washington, 
when  he  began  an  attack  upon  what  he  considered  a  great  abuse 
in  that  legislative  body ;  this  was  the  "  Mileage  System,"  or  the 
custom  of  the  members  receiving  pay  at  so  much  a  mile  for  what- 
ever distance  they  travelled  from  their  homes  to  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment. This  system,  honest  and  reasonable  in  its  origin,  had 
been  outgrown,  through  the  modern  facilities  for  travel,  and  had 
become  a  source  of  peculation  and  corruption  ;  but  the  attack  in 
this  case  was  almost  quixotic,  both  in  its  bravery  and  its  useless- 
ness;  it  created  a  flutter  of  excitement  in  the  public  mind,  which 


2IO  HORACE    GREELEV. 

lasted  until  obliterated  by  a  newer  sensation,  but  had  no  other 
effect  on  the  House  of  Representatives  than  to  excite  the  ill-will 
of  the  members  who  were  annually  profiting  by  this  antiquated 
mode  of  compensation.  Mr.  Greeley  was  only  three  months  in 
Congress,  and  though  very  active  and  conscientious,  by  his  so  uni- 
formly assuming  a  bellicose  attitude,  came  to  be  regarded  as  a 
man  to  be  avoided.  He  excited  some  amusement,  too,  by  declin- 
ing to  sit  at  "  all-night  sessions,"  retiring  when  he  thought  it  was 
the  proper  time  to  seek  repose. 

The  Tribune  had  been  a  Whig  paper,  so  long  as  there  was  a 
Whig  party  to  represent ;  but  after  the  defeat  of  General  Scott,  in 
1852,  the  Tribune  declared  itself  independent,  though  it  was 
speedily  recognized  first  as  a  Free  Soil  paper,  and  then  as  a  Re- 
publican. Perhaps  the  most  surprising  of  all  the  self- revelations 
with  which  Mr.  Greeley  ever  and  anon  surprised  his  friends,  was 
that  remarkable  letter  which  he  addressed  to  "  Seward,  Weed  & 
Co.,"  as  he  termed  the  Republican  leaders,  and  in  which  he  be- 
trayed the  bitterest  disappointment  that  he  had  not  been  "ap- 
pointed to  some  office."  Considering  the  great  influence  which 
Mr.  Greeley  exerted  as  editor  of  the  Tribune,  and  in  the  councils 
of  the  party  of  the  large  share  he  had  in  forcing  the  nomination  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  thereby  depriving  Mr.  Seward  of  what  might  have 
been  considered  a  just  claim  on  the  Republicans,  as  the  oldest 
capable  leader  of  the  political  ring  of  the  Anti-Slavery  party,  it  is 
strange  that  he  did  not  see  his  position  to  be  as  honorable  as  any 
within  the  gift  of  a  Cabinet  officer.  Another  point  was  the  mis- 
judgment  shown  in  making  this  complaint  to  Thurlow  Weed,  the 
"  king-maker "  of  Albany,  who  had  always  refused  office  himself, 
on  the  ground  that  he  could  wield  more  real  power,  as  the  adviser 
"  behind  the  throne,"  than  by  the  occupation  of  any  office  whatever. 

During  the  late  war  Mr.  Greeley's  course  was  most  erratic  and 
unstable.  The  Tribune  had  been  considered  in  the  South  an 
"Abolition"  paper;  Mr.  Greeley  had  condemned  all  the"  prelim- 
inary movements  of  the  secessionists,  and  had  come  very  near  de- 


HORACE     GREELEY.  2  I  I 

manding  the  impeachment  of  President  Buchanan.  The  South 
regarded  Greeley  as  one  of  their  bitterest  enemies,  and  would 
naturally  have  looked  anywhere  for  aid  and  comfort  sooner  than 
to  seek  it  in  the  Tribune  office.  Just  at  the  crisis  of  affairs,  when 
every  word  from  an  influential  source  was  capable  of  turning  the 
scale  for  good  or  evil,  Greeley  astounded  his  friends,  dismayed 
the  hearts  of  the  loyal,  and  put  a  ready  weapon  into  the  hand  of 
secession,  by  his  ill-timed,  ill-considered  article,  "Let  the  South 
Go ! "  At  this  precise  moment  there  were  gathered  in  a  New  York 
hotel  fifty  Southern  officers,  who  had  been  educated  at  West 
Point,  and  who  had  convened  in  the  metropolis  to  discuss  the  point, 
"  Whether  they  were  bound  by  their  oath  to  the  government,  or 
whether  their  prior  and  natural  allegiance  to  their  native  States 
justified  their  going  over  to  the  Southern  army."  The  evening 
discussion  had  remained  undecided ;  but  in  the  morning,  when  the 
Tribune  appeared  with  the  startlingly  unexpected  head-line,  "  Let 
the  South  Go !  "  the  advocates  for  secession  among  these  officers 
were  triumphant,  and  all  felt  that  if  the  Tribune,  and  an  anti- 
slavery  paper,  was  willing  to  "  Let  the  erring  sisters  go  in  peace," 
that  the  rest  of  the  community  might  be  depended  upon  to 
acquiesce.  The  immediate  result  of  that  article  was  to  cause  those 
fifty  officers  to  vote  that  they  "  resign  their  commissions  in  the 
United  States  Army  and  join  their  brethren  in  the  South."  But 
no  sooner  had  these  men  taken  advantage  of  his  advice  than  Mr. 
Greeley  took  another  tack;  and  the  "erring  sisters"  having 
attempted  to  "go,"  then  the  Tribune  was  the  first  to  get  out  its 
lasso  to  try  and  pull  them  forcibly  back  again.  Before  the  admin- 
istration was  ready  with  its  plans,  before  the  inchoate  Union  Army 
was  half  drilled,  or  any  considerable  body  of  cavalry  was  properly 
organized,  Mr.  Greeley  broke  out  with  his  unreasonable  clamor 
of  "  On  to  Richmond !  "  doing  all  that  it  was  in  his  power  to  do 
(and  the  Tribune  was  a  power  in  Washington  then)  to  precipitate 
the  disaster  of  Bull  Run.  Then,  when  the  Union  cause  looked 
dark,  "despairing  of  the  Republic,"  he  rushed  to  Canada  to  discuss 


2  i  2  HORACE     GREELEY. 

unauthorized,  with  Confederate  envoys  on  foreign  soil,  terms  for  a 
treaty  of  peace,  disgraceful  and  injurious  to  the  United  States  ;  yet 
all  this  time  the  Tribune  flourished,  until  it  received  another  shock, 
when  one  fine  morning  its  readers  learned  that  its  senior  editor 
had  gone  to  Washington  to  offer  bail  for  Jefferson  Davis !  *  By 
what  system  of  reasoning  Mr.  Greeley  justified  these  mental  gym- 
nastics, it  would  be  difficult  to  tell ;  but  throughout  all  these  ter- 
giversations he  kept  a  hold  upon  a  large  class  of  readers  who 
believed  in  him,  to  whom  he  was  a  mental  and  moral  lawgiver, 
who  refused  to  believe  any  evil  of  him  ;  and,  if  some  visitors  to  the 
city — for  a  large  proportion  of  Tribune  readers  were  country  and 
particularly  Western  people — on  coming  back,  reported  that  in 
an  interview  with  Mr.  Greeley,  the  editor  had  indulged  in  un- 
limited profanity,  the  unlucky  individual  was  incontinently  dis- 
credited, lost  caste,  and  was  tacitly  voted  a  calumniator. 

In  1872  a  curious  political  combination  was  made.  General 
Grant  was  nominated  for  a  second  Presidential  term  ;  many  Repub- 
licans, like  Mr.  Greeley  himself,  were  advocates  of  but  one  term 
for  that  office.  In  May  a  call  for  a  convention  was  made  by  the 
liberal  Republicans  and  free  traders,  a  party  which  Horace  Greeley 
had  always  opposed,  and  against  whom  his  book  on  political 
economy  was  principally  aimed.  Mr.  Greeley's  friends  had  worked 
hard  to  secure  the  attendance  of  a  large  delegation  devoted  to 
him.  Thus  the  body  was  made  up  of  disaffected  Republicans,  free 
traders,  and  dissatisfied  Democrats,  with  "  Greeley  men  "  of  any 
principle,  if  they  could  only  elect  their  candidate.  Probably  such 
a  surprise  was  never  sprung  upon  the  country  as  the  nomination 
of  Horace  Greeley  to  the  Presidency,  by  a  convention  of  derelict 
Republicans,  free  traders,  and  bolting  Democrats,  whom  he  had 
been  fighting  all  his  life.  When  first  reported  it  was  received  as 
a  canard ;  when  convinced  of  the  truth,  it  "made  the  judicious 
grieve,"  and  the  surprise  of  the  nomination  was  only  equalled  by 

*On  this  occasion  one  of  the  editorial  staff,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  resigned  in  a  "  natural  rage  "  at  this 
action,  Mr.  W.  having  had  a  son  and  six  nephews  in  the  Union  Army. 


HORACE     GREELEY.  2  I  3 

the  readiness  with  which  Mr.  Greeley  accepted  it.  In  July  the 
nomination  was  endorsed  by  the  Democratic  Convention.  Had  a 
nomination  been  tendered  him  by  the  Republican  party,  for  whom 
he  had  labored  since  its  organization,  it  might  have  been  thought 
as  somewhat  extravagant  reward  for  partisan  service,  but  there 
would  have  been  nothing  inconsistent  in  it;  as  it  was,  nothing  could 
be  more  so,  both  on  the  part  of  the  nominators  and  the  nominee. 
That  he  should  be  defeated  was  inevitable.  Strange  to  say,  his 
experience  as  an  editor,  his  own  bitter  vituperation  of  political 
opponents,  had  not  prepared  him  for  the  attacks  which  were 
instantly  made  upon  him  by  his  late  friends  of  the  Republican  party 
— hp  could  not  digest  the  ridicule  of  the  caricaturists;  he  worked 
hard  through  the  canvass,  travelling  and  addressing  meetings;  body 
and  mind  suffered  from  the  fatigue  and  excitement.  To  add  to 
the  nervous  disturbance,  Mrs.  Greeley,  who  had  been  out  of  health 
for  a  considerable  time,  died  at  this  period ;  he  had  tenderly 
watched  over  her  day  and  night,  and  altogether  the  burden  became 
too  great  for  him  to  bear.  But  the  culminating  trial  was  his  ex- 
clusion from  the  Tribune  management.  Greeley,  expecting  to  be 
elected  to  the  Presidency,  had  withdrawn  from  the  editorial 
chair ;  when  the  crushing  defeat  came,  if  he  could  have  vented  his 
chagrin  freely  through  the  old  channel,  it  is  possible  that  this  might 
have  proved  a  safety-valve,  and  at  least  have  Delayed,  if  not  alto- 
gether averted,  the  catastrophe ;  but  this  relief  was  denied  him. 
The  Tribune  association  had  fallen  under  other  influence.  The 
old  chief  was  in  fact,  if  not  ostensibly,  deposed,  and  a  new  king 
reigned.  What  was  left  for  Horace  Greeley  but  to  die  ?  And  he 
died  before  the  month  was  out,  on  the  29th  of  that  fatal  November 
which  slew  him  politically ;  he  had  passed  from  earth  to  the  great 
beyond,  where  there  is  rest  for  the  weary.  Horace  Greeley's 
"  busy  life  "  was  over ;  the  physicians  giving  it  as  their  opinion, 
that  if  his  body  had  survived  the  long  strain  of  over-work,  it  was 
impossible  that  the  mind  could  recover  its  tension. 

The  large  body  of  persons  who  sustained  the  Tribune,  and  per- 


2  T  4  HORACE     GREELEY. 

sonally  idolized  the  Greeley  of  their  imaginations,  was  largely 
made  up  of  those  belonging  to  what  was  called  "the  party  of 
modern  ideas  : "  abolitionists,  total  abstinence  advocates,  socialists, 
transcendentalists,  free-soilers,  anti-dramatists,  and  others  of  that 
ilk.  They  were  an  effective  party,  for  they  were  aggressive  in 
their  opinions ;  and  in  the  main  Mr.  Greeley  did  deserve  the  trust 
reposed  in  him  as  a  moralist.  His  inconsistencies  chiefly  arose 
from  his  temperament,  but  this  made  him  particularly  unsafe  as  a 
political  leader.  No  one  could  foretell  what  tack  he  would  take ; 
and  his  very  honesty  of  purpose  might  suddenly  disarrange  the 
programme  of  party  management.  He  was  equally  capricious  in 
his  personal  friendships  and  in  other  matters.  Himself  a  Univer- 
salist  in  belief,  he  caused  his  daughters  to  be  educated  in  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  faith.  It  is  not  known  precisely  what  amount  of 
money  Horace  Greeley  left,  but  that  he  was  able  to  sink  a  fortune 
in  a  farm  at  Chappaqua,  and  to  lend  without  surety  some  $800,000 
to  the  late  "  Corneel  Vanderbilt,"  proves  that  he  must  have  earned 
enough  to  be  reckoned  among  the  millionaires.  But  it  was  emi- 
nently characteristic  of  the  man  that  while  he  was  thus  lending 
over  two-thirds  of  a  million  of  dollars  to  a  stranger  in  no  way 
worthy  of  his  respect,  and  who  had  no  shadow  of  claim  upon  him, 
he  persistently  refused  to  procure  for  his  own  brother,  a  decent, 
respectable  farmer,  the  appointment  of  mail  agent,  which  he  ad- 
mitted he  could  easily  have  done.  His  brother,  Nathan  Barnes 
Greeley,  of  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  tells  the  story  thus : 

"  When  Lincoln  was  elected  I  took  a  notion  that  I  would  like  to 
have  the  appointment  of  mail  agent  on  one  of  our  local  roads. 
The  salary  was  $1,000  a  year,  which  was  a  big  thing  for  me.  I 
knew  Horace  could  get  me  the  appointment.  I  spent  some  money 
travelling  around  and  getting  recommendations,  and  I  succeeded 
in  getting  what  I  thought  was  sufficient.  I  had  letters  from  a 
number  of  leading  business  men  along  the  route  as  well  as  from 
the  party  men,  and  these  I  forwarded  to  Horace  with  a  letter  ask- 
ing him  to  help  me.  What  do  you  suppose  he  did  ?  He  wrote 


HORACE    GREELEY. 


215 


back,  returning  my  recommendations,  with  the  information,  penned 
in  his  own  hand,  that  he  could  get  the  appointment  for  me  without 
the  slightest  trouble,  but  that  he  didn't  want  to  do  it.  He  wanted 
me  to  stick  to  the  farm.  He  said  I  was  the  only  boy  (a  gray- 
haired  man)  at  home,  and  he  thought  it  best  that  I  should  stay 
there.  I  wrote  back  and  explained  to  him  that  I  could  be  at  home 
quite  frequently;  that  at  that  time  the  salary  of  $1,000  a  yeaf 
would  help  me  out  very  considerably ;  that  another  party  had  of- 
fered to  take  the  position  for  $500  a  year.  I  wound  up  -by  urging 
him  to  help  me  to  the  appointment.  His  reply  was  this :  '  If 
another  man  offers  to  do  this  service  for  $500,  and  you  expect 
$1,000,  that  is  an  excellent  reason  why  you  should  not  have  it;  if 
you  had  it  the  government  would  be  losing  $500  a  year.' " 

At  this  time  Mr.  Greeley's  father  and  mother  were  both  dead. 
Mr.  Greeley's  affection  was  concentrated  upon  a  few  persons, 
and  consanguinity  had  little  to  do  with  it.  His  patience  and  for- 
bearance had  equally  its  elective  affinities.  In  his  own  family  he 
had  his  favorites,  and  among  his  friends  some  could  demand  any- 
thing of  him  while  others  were  rebuffed  without  mercy ;  while  a 
comparatively  new  acquaintance,  a  young,  graceless  spendthrift,  of 
no  kin  to  him,  could  draw  his  thousands  at  will  from  the  Greeley 
exchequer,  a  simple  request  from  the  very  oldest  friend  he  had  in 
the  city,  the  person  who  procured  him  his  first  job  of  work  in  New 
York,  was  disregarded  with  contumely.  This  gentleman,  Mr. 
Ashael  Jones,  once  gave  a  friend  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Mr. 
Greeley,  with  the  request  "  that  he  would  aid  an  old  friend  of  his 
to  procure  some  subordinate  position  in  the  custom  house." 
Scarcely  had  Mr.  Greeley  glanced  over  the  note  and  ascertained 
its  purport  than  he  commenced  to  assail  the  bearer,  a  respectable 
middle-aged  American  gentleman,  with  a  volley  of  oaths  and  vi- 
tuperation because  he  did  not  "go  west,"  instead  of  "hanging 
around  the  city  looking  for  an  office."  The  gentleman,  who  was 
aware  of  Greeley's  early  obligations  to  Mr.  Jones,  and  expected  at 
least  a  civil  answer,  even  if  the  request  could  not  be  complied  with, 


21 6  HORACE    GREELEY. 

and  who  had  only  known  of  the  editor  of  the  Tribune  as  "  the 
great  expounder  of  moral  ideas,"  was  amazed  beyond  measure  at 
such  a  reception,  and  incontinently  fled  from  the  storm. 

Mr.  Greeley's  great  domestic  trial  was  the  loss  of  a  young  son, 
of  whom  he  was  specially  fond,  and  who  died  in  1849.  They  had 
already  lost  three  children,  and  "  Pickie,"  the  well-beloved,  had  at- 
tained the  age  of  five  years :  his  real  name  was  Raphael,  and  he 
was  a  beautiful  child.  At  the  time  he  died — very  suddenly  of  mem- 
branous croup — Margaret  Fuller  was  the  Tribune  correspondent 
in  Rome,  and  her  letters  were  full  of  the  momentous  changes  of 
'48,  and  the  grand  disappointments  in  Italy  in  '49.  When  Mr. 
Greeley  announced  his  loss  to  Margaret  Fuller,  he  wrote:  "You 
mourn  for  Rome  betrayed,  I  mourn  for  Pickie  dead,"  and  the  latter 
event  to  him  was  of  far  greater  importance  than  the  fate  of  Rome. 
Mr.  Greeley  left  no  surviving  son :  his  eldest  had  died  an  infant, 
but  two  daughters  were  left  of  the  family  at  his  decease.  The 
eldest,  Miss  Ida,  was  married  to  Colonel  Nicholas  Smith  in  May, 
1875.  She  was  a  woman  of  fine  intellectual  gifts,  and  had  for 
several  years  before  her  father's  death  presided  over  his  house- 
hold. The  other  daughter,  Miss  Gabrielle,  is  now  the  last  surviv- 
ing member  of  the  family :  Mrs.  Smith  having  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty  (in  1880),  leaving  three  children;  the  eldest,  a  son,  is  named 
Horace  Greeley — without  the  addition  of  the  paternal  cognomen 
— the  parents  agreeing  that  the  boy  should  bear  that  name  with- 
out any  other  patronymic. 

The  money  which  Horace  Greeley  had  loaned  to  the  late  Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt  was  repaid  by  him  to  the  two  surviving  daugh- 
ters, on  the  9th  of  April,  1879,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  "the 
Commodore." 

On  Oak  avenue,  in  Greenwood  Cemetery,  on  the  crest  of  a  hill 
overlooking  the  Bay  of  New  York,  stands  a  granite  pedestal,  eight 
feet  in  height,  bearing  a  portrait  bust,  of  heroic  size,  of  Horace 
Greeley;  this  memorial  stands  in  the  centre  of  a  circular  plot, 
twenty-five  feet  high  in  diameter,  enclosed  with  a  low  curb  of  ham- 


HORACE     GREELEY.  2  I  7 

mered  granite  ;  the  initials  H.  G.  and  the  word  Ida  being  grown 
in  colored  plants  in  front  of  the  pedestal.  This  monument  to  Mr. 
Greeley  was  erected  to  his  memory  by  the  printers  of  New  York ; 
the  bust  itself,  and  two  tablets  inserted  in  the  pedestal,  being  com- 
posed of  type-metal,  which  readily  lends  itself  to  the  artist's  and 
moulder's  skill.  Mr.  Greeley's  form  is  shown  nearly  to  the  waist, 
but  armless ;  it  represents  him  with  the  historical  overcoat  thrown 
back,  showing  the  inner  pocket,  filled  with  letters  and  papers.  On 
the  front  of  the  pedestal,  on  the  metallic  plate,  is  the  full-length 
figure  of  a  young  man  at  the  case,  his  copy  before  him,  his  stick  in 
the  left  hand,  the  right  resting  on  a  box  in  the  upper  case,  ready 
to  "  pick  "  up  a  "cap."  The  tablet  on  the  rear  contains  the  simple 
inscription:  "Horace  Greeley,  born  February  3d,  1811.  Died 
December  29th,  1872.  Founder  of  the  New  York  Tribune.  C. 
Calverly,  Sc.,  1876."  On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  pedestal, 
in  alto  relievo,  is  represented  a  plough,  as  symbolical  of  Mr. 
Greeley's  early  surroundings ;  on  the  left  is  a  scroll  of  paper 
partly  opened,  across  which  lies  a  pen.  This  spot  is  one  always 
shown  to  visitors  by  the  guides  who  direct  strangers  at  Green- 
wood. 


MATTHEW   VASSAR. 

THE  name  of  Matthew  Vassar  is  destined  to  be  one  of  the  im- 
perishable, not  because  he  was  good,  or  rich,  or  generous ;  not  for 
these  things  alone,  for  others  have  been  all  that  these  qualities 
imply,  and  have  yet  only  attained  to  a  local  or  temporary  fame  ; 
but  Matthew  Vassar  had  the  wise  insight,  not  only  to  do  an  ex- 
ceedingly noble  thing,  but  to  do  something  which  had  never  been 
done  before,  thus  becoming  the  great  pioneer,  which  we  hope  will 
find  many  imitators,  but  which  he  copied  from  no  one.  Other 
people  have  given  large  sums  of  money  for  the  founding  of  edu- 
cational institutions,  and  even  for  the  establishment  of  girls'  schools 
and  academies ;  but  Matthew  Vassar  was  the  first  to  endow  a  col- 
lege for  young  women,  in  which  they  may  learn  all  that  is  taught 
in  the  old  established  colleges  for  men,  and  much  more  besides. 
In  his  great  gift  he  recognized  the  principle  so  well  expressed  by 
the  late  Madame  D'Arusmont:  "Human  kind  is  but  one  family : 
the  education  of  its  youth,  male  and  female,  should  be  equal  and 
universal."  Up  to  the  time  of  the  opening  of  Vassar  College 
there  was  no  institution  for  young  women,  where  they  could  re- 
ceive an  "  equal "  education  with  their  brothers. 

Matthew  Vassar  was  of  English  birth  but  of  French  stock,  his 
ancestors  coming  from  France  about  1700,  and  settling  in  the 
county  of  Norfolk,  England ;  the  name  was  then  written  Le  Vas- 
seur,  the  article  being  dropped  in  course  of  time,  and  the  spelling 
becoming  Anglicized  before  any  of  the  family  reached  this  country. 
The  first  of  them,  who  came  with  the  intention  of  settling  here,  was 
James  Vassar,  the  grandson  of  the  French  emigrant  to  England — 
there  had  been  one  visitor  of  the  name  here  before,  in  the  person 
of  General  Lafayette's  private  secretary.  The  family  in  England 
(218) 


MATTHEW   VASSAR. 


MATTHEW    VASSAR. 


219 


had  been  well-to-do  farmers  and  wool-growers  in  Norfolk  county ; 
they  were  not  driven  here  by  stress  of  poverty,  but  being  dissen- 
ters from  the  established  church,  felt  themselves  restricted  and 
oppressed  ;  they  were  Baptists,  and  as  such  objected  to  paying  tithes 
to  the  parish  parson,  and  to  be  treated  as  social  pariahs  by  the 
adherents  of  the  state  church.  It  was  liberty  of  thought  and 
speech  which  they  sought,  and  not  solely  to  better  their  condition, 
for,  with  the  exception  of  oppressive  laws,  they  were  very  well  off 
in  old  Norfolk. 

For  these  reasons  it  was  that,  in  the  year  1 796,  James  Vassar, 
of  East  Durham,  Puddenham,  Norfolk,  left  his  English  home,  and 
with  his  wife  and  four  children,  of  whom  Matthew  was  the  young- 
est, sought  these  shores,  pilgrim  fashion,  that  he  might  enjoy  lib- 
erty of  conscience.  There  came  with  him  also  a  brother,  Thomas. 
On  this  voyage  little  Matthew  was  nearly  lost,  a  heavy  sea  carry- 
ing him  off  his  feet,  and  he  would  inevitably  have  been  washed 
overboard  but  for  the  net-work  above  the  taffrail.  In  his  short 
life  of  four  years  he  had  already  experienced  three  narrow  escapes 
from  death ;  ,but  none  of  these  had  injured  his  excellent  constitu- 
tion. 

The  family  were  induced  to  visit  Dutchess  county,  and  finally 
selected  a  farm  site  near  the  small  village  of  Poughkeepsie — some 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  on  Wappengis  creek.  The  family  oc- 
cupied a  temporary  home  until  their  own  house  was  built  on  the  farm, 
one  of  the  attractions  of  which  was  a  natural  growth  of  a  plant  they 
loved  full  well — the  hop-vine,  for  at  that  period  no  respectable  Eng- 
lish farmer  ever  thought  of  doing  without  his  own  home-brewed  ale. 

Unfortunately  for  Mr.  Vassar's  purposes,  there  was  no  barley 
to  be  had,  so  in  the  autumn,  brother  Thomas  went  back  to 
England,  to  get  a  supply  of  the  needed  seed,  and  before  another 
season  came  round,  the  good  "nut-brown  October"  was  welcomed 
to  the  family  circle,  like  a  long-missed  friend.  Some  of  the  neigh- 
bors were  treated  to  a  draught,  and  the  fame  of  this  strengthening 


22O  MATTHEW     VASSAR. 

fluid  spread  through  the  place.  James  Vassar  was  not  the  man  to 
miss  his  opportunities,  so  he  very  soon  began  to  brew  for  sale,  the 
good  wife  taking  a  barrel  in  her  market-cart,  beside  her  butter  and 
•eggs,  with  little  Matthew  by  her  side,  and  went  retailing  it  in  the 
village ;  but  its  reputation  spread  so  that  this  primitive  mode  was 
insufficient  to  supply  the  demand,  and  the  brothers  Vassar  decided 
to  give  up  the  farm  and  establish  a  brewing  business ;  this  suc- 
ceeded remarkably,  and  Matthew's  eldest  brother  Guy  assisted  his 
father  in  it,  and  was  content  to  do  so.  But,  when  it  came  Mat- 
thew's time  to  go  into  the  brewery  to  work,  he  rebelled  against  it; 
he  hated  the  business,  and  so  reluctant  was  he  to  take  any  part  in 
it,  that  his  father  determined  to  apprentice  him  to  a  tanner,  but 
this  did  not  suit  his  taste  any  better ;  he  tried  to  induce  his  father 
to  change  his  mind,  but  the  old  gentleman  was  resolute ;  the  in- 
dentures were  made  out,  and  the  day  set  for  him  to  enter  the 
tannery  of  a  neighbor  as  an  apprentice.  But  this  was  not  to  be. 
Matthew  had  secured  his  mother  as  an  ally.  She  sympathized 
with  the  boy's  desire  to  "  go  and  seek  his  fortune,"  as  a  better 
alternative  than  to  be  chained  for  seven  years  to  a  business  he 
detested.  So  early  one  morning,  the  two  walked  off  together, 
to  go  to  the  ferry  at  New  Hamburg,  a  distance  of  eight  miles; 
the  lad  had  a  few  articles  of  clothing  in  a  handkerchief,  and  his 
mother  gave  him  all  she  had — seventy-five  cents ;  and  with  that 
outfit  he  crossed  the  Hudson,  not  to  appear  at  home  again  for 
four  years. 

Matthew's  aim  was  at  that  time  to  reach  Newburg,  and  seek 
employment  there.  He  had  walked  all  day,  and  towards  evening, 
feeling  very  tired,  he  accosted  a  farmer  who  was  driving  a  wagon, 
and  asked  him  to  let  him  ride  a  little  way.  The  man  took  him 
up,  but  scanned  him  very  closely,  and  then  charged  him  with  being 
a  "  runaway."  Matthew  did  the  best  thing  he  could  do  ;  he  told 
his  name  and  all  the  circumstances,  just  as  they  were,  awakening 
the  sympathy  of  his  conductor,  who  knew  Mr.  Vassar  by  reputa- 
tion, and  he  invited  Matthew  to  stop  at  his  house  that  night.  This 


MATTHEW     VASSAR.  221 

kind-hearted  man,  whose  name  was  Butter  worth,  lived  at  a  small 
village  named  Balm  Town,  near  Newburg.  In  the  morning  he 
took  Matthew  over  to  his  son's  store,  and  asked  him  to  take  the 
boy  in  and  find  him  something  to  do.  Here  he  commenced  as  an 
errand-boy,  swept  out,  took  down  and  put  up  shutters,  lit  the  fire 
in  winter,  brought  water,  and  did  all  the  chores  that  boys  are  ever 
called  upon  to  do.  But  this  drudgery  did  not  last  long;  the  young 
proprietor  saw  he  was  worth  too  much  as  a  salesman  ;  he  was 
quick,  appreciative,  learnt  values  quickly,  was  civil  and  obliging, 
and  the  customers  liked  to  deal  with  him.  He  learnt  to  keep  the 
accounts,  and  as  he  was  earning  some  money,  though  not  much, 
he  was  better  content,  as  he  often  used  to  say  in  after  life,  than  if 
he  had  been  working  for  nothing  as  an  apprentice.  He  remained 
with  Mr.  Butterworth  three  years;  and  then,  being  seventeen 
years  old,  he  took  the  position  of  clerk  with  a  merchant  who  paid 
him  $300  a  year,  which  was  then  considered  a  very  good  salary. 
He  stayed  with  this  person  a  year,  and  then  a  longing  to  go  home 
and  see  his  mother  seized  him — also,  perhaps,  he  had  a  desire  to 
show  the  $150  which  he  had  saved.  With  this,  having  proved  that 
he  could  earn  his  own  living,  with  something  to  spare,  he  was  on 
a  better  footing  to  discuss  business  with  his  father,  and  he  now 
consented  to  enter  the  brewery  establishment  as  book-keeper  and 
collector.  All  went  well  for  about  a  year  after  Matthew's  return 
home;  then  came  two  terrible  misfortunes.  The  brewery  was 
burnt  down,  there  being  no  insurance  upon  it,  and  Guy,  Matthew's 
elder  brother,  suddenly  died,  by  entering  one  of  the  half-burnt 
vats,  thinking  to  save  some  hops,  but  was  suffocated  by  the  accu- 
mulated gas.  Mr.  James  Vassar  did  not  attempt  to  re-establish 
his  business,  but  retired  to  a  farm,  on  which  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  life. 

Young  Matthew  now  thought  only  of  retrieving  the  family  for- 
tunes in  the  promptest  way  possible ;  he  therefore  on  his  own 
account  resolved  to  turn  brewer.  Being  his  own  master,  this  did 
not  seem  to  him  so  irksome  as  in  his  boyhood.  He  had  just 


222  MATTHEW     VASSAR. 

enough  means  to  start  in  a  very  small  way.  His  sister  Maria  had 
married  a  Mr.  Booth,  who  was  a  woollen  manufacturer  in  Pough- 
keepsie ;  he  happened  to  have  a  vacant  dye-house,  and  this  Mat- 
thew Vassar  procured  in  'which  to  commence  his  brewing.  His 
apparatus  was  so  limited,  that  he  could  only  make  a  few  barrels  at 
a  time,  and  these  he  sold  in  small  quantities,  serving  his  customers 
personally.  But  what  he  made  was  thoroughly  well  made,  and 
gave  great  satisfaction.  His  business  grew,  and  soon  his  limited 
quarters  in  the  dye-house  became  too  small  for  him,  .and  he  hired 
part  of  the  basement  of  the  county  court-house ;  this  was  in  the 
spring  of  1812.  Here  he  opened  a  shop  for  the  sale  of  oysters,  as 
well  as  for  the  ale  which  he  brewed.  This  was  a  great  novelty, 
and  drew  immediately ;  there  had  never  been  an  oyster  saloon  in 
Poughkeepsie  before,  and  it  soon  became  the  rendezvous  of  the 
lawyers,  the  politicians,  and  all  the  habitues  of  the  court-house, 
transient  travellers,  and  the  farmers  who  came  to  town  took  the 
opportunity  to  visit  the  "  new  saloon."  Mr.  Vassar  at  this  time 
seemed  to  have  a  monopoly  of  the  barley  trade ;  as  his  family  was 
the  first  to  introduce  the  grain  in  that  section  of  the  country,  and 
his  father  still  raised  it  on  the  farm,  he  also  sold  the  "  grains  "  to 
farmers  after  it  had  gone  through  the  vat  for  feed,  and  after  the 
business  of  the  day,  every  evening  found  him  waiting  upon  cus- 
tomers in  his  saloon  till  midnight.  Poughkeepsie  was  growing ; 
it  was  one  of  the  most  thriving  towns  on  the  Hudson ;  and  as  the 
population  increased,  Matthew  Vassar's  business  extended.  Still 
it  had  only  about  3,000  inhabitants,  but,  so  far  as  appears,  Mr. 
Vassar  had  no  formidable  rivals  to  compete  with ;  the  field  was 
his  own. 

Mr.  Vassar  had  been  less  than  a  year  established  in  the  court- 
house when  he  ventured  on  matrimony:  on  the  ;th  of  March, 
1813,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Caroline  Valentine. 
They  commenced  housekeeping  in  a  very  modest  way.  hiring  part 
of  a  house  at  a  rental  of  forty  dollars  a  year ;  but  his  wife  knew 
how  to  make  a  little  go  a  great  way,  and  they  lacked  no  essential 


MATTHEW     VASSAR. 


223 


comfort.  Still  for  his  business  he  required  more  capital  than  he 
possessed,  and  he  was  all  the  time  conscious  that  with  sufficient 
means  he  could  add  immensely  to  his  profits.  Fortunately  help 
came  at  the  right  time :  a  gentleman  named  Thomas  Purser,  who 
was  somewhat  of  a  connoisseur  in  ales,  and  had  often  enjoyed  his 
mug  in  Vassar's  saloon,  proposed  of  his  own  accord  to  go  into 
partnership  with  our  young  brewer.  This  was  precisely  what  he 
needed,  as  Mr.  Purser  had  capital,  the  only  thing  which  Matthew 
Vassar  lacked.  The  firm-name  became  "  M.  Vassar  &  Co.,"  and 
they  proceeded  to  erect  an  extensive  brewery  in  the  summer  of 
1814.  Henceforward  the  head  of  the  firm  devoted  his  whole  at- 
tention to  the  brewing  of  the  now  famous  ale,  and  gave  up  his 
connection  with  the  saloon.  This  partnership  was  the  real  founda- 
tion of  the  wholesale  business,  and  was  every  way  satisfactory 
while  it  continued;  but  Mr.  Purser's  health  failing  at  the  end  of 
two  years  he  withdrew  from  the  business.  Two  other  gentlemen 
were  afterwards  received  as  partners,  Messrs.  Nathan  and  Mul- 
ford  Conklin,  and  this  connection  was  maintained  for  thirteen 
years;  when,  in  1829,  Mr.  Vassar  bought  out  their  interest,  con- 
ducting it  for  three  years  alone,  when  he  invited  his  nephews, 
Matthew  Vassar,  Jr.,  and  John  Guy  Vassar,  to  become  partners  in 
the  concern.  These  young  men  were  the  sons  of  his  brother, 
John  Guy. 

The  old  firm-name  was  still  retained  of  "  M.  Vassar  &  Co.;"  but. 
the  young  members  of  the  firm  were  pushing,  enterprising  men, 
and  there  was  plenty  of  business  for  all  of  them  to  attend  to.  At 
the  end  of  four  years  it  was  found  necessary  to  provide  a  larger 
establishment,  and  a  large  brick  building  was  erected  contiguous 
to  the  river,  near  what  is  known  as  the  Main  Street  Landing. 

Mr.  Vassar  had  no  sooner  released  himself  from  the  old  firm  (in 
1866),  of  which  he  was  the  origin,  and  for  thirty  years  the  hoad 
and  main  spring  of  the  business,  than  he  proceeded  to  put  into 
execution  a  long-cherished  project  for  revisiting  his  old  home  in 
England,  to  see  other  parts  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  make  the 


224  MATTHEW    VASSAR. 

"grand  tour"  of  the  continent  of  Europe.  Beside  his  wife  only 
one  other  person  accompanied  him  ;  this  was  a  young  man  named 
Cyrus  Swan,  who  afterwards  took  an  active  part  in  the  building 
and  organization  of  Vassar  College.  He  was  a  person  of  liberal 
education  and  a  pleasant  companion,  and  it  was  on  the  invitation 
of  Mr.  Vassar  that  he  travelled  with  the  retired  brewer  and  his 
wife,  during  their  prolonged  journey  in  search  of  relaxation  and 
the  novelties  of  foreign  lands.  This  comfortable  little  party  of 
three,  for  two  of  whom  Mr.  Swan  would  sometimes  find  occasion 
to  act  as  interpreter,  left  New  York  in  the  latter  part  of  April, 
1845,  in  a  sailing  vessel,  which  was  twenty  days  in  making  the 
voyage,  landing  at  Portsmouth,  England,  in  the  pleasant  month  of 
May. 

Mr.  Vassar  was  at  this  time  about  fifty  years  of  age,  in  good 
health  and  in  prime  condition  to  enjoy  and  appreciate  his  long 
holiday,  which  he  had  earned  by  thirty-seven  years  of  toil  since 
the  day  he  put  the  Hudson  river  between  himself  and  the  dreaded 
tannery.  Besides  the  place  of  his  birth,  of  which  he  had  retained 
only  the  vague  recollections  of  a  child  of  four  years,  one  of  the 
most  interesting  spots  to  him,  as  a  Vassar,  and  as  it  proved  one 
of  the  most  fertile  in  good  results,  was  his  visit  to  Guy's  Hospital 
in  London.  The  Guys  were  related  to  the  Vassars,  being  united 
in  the  old  French  ancestry,  and  in  more  modern  times  by  marriage. 
Thomas  Guy,  the  founder  of  this  charity,  was  a  native  of  London  ; 
he  made  most  of  his  large  fortune  in  the  purchase  of  government 
securities,  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  buying  at  a  depreciated 
rate  from  those  who  could  not  wait  for  their  paper  to  come  to  ma- 
turity: many  of  these  were  naval  officers  and  the  holders  of 
sailors'  prize  tickets.  He  also  made  enormous  sums  out  of  the 
South  Sea  Company :  that  wretched  "  bubble  "  which  wrecked  so 
many  amateur  speculators.  When  this  swindling  company  burst 
in  1720,  Guy  had  got  rid  of  all  his  bonds  at  fabulous  prices,  being 
among  the  very  few  who  saved  themselves  by  not  holding  on  too 
long  to  the  worthless  stock.  He  was  then  approaching  the  end 


MATTHEW     VASSAR.  225 

of  his  seventy-eighth  year :  never  having  married  he  had  no  heir 
for  his  wealth,  nor  any  very  near  kin  then  living.  He  had  given 
large  sums  to  St.  Thomas'  Hospital  during  his  life,  and  a  few  years 
before  his  death  he  consecrated  the  bulk  of  his  fortune  to  the. 
building  of  a  similar  charity  which  should  bear  his  name;  and 
when  Matthew  Vassar  read  on  the  pedestal,  which  bears  a  life-like 
statue  of  Thomas  Guy,  standing  in  the  great  quadrangular  court 
of  the  hospital,  these  words:  "Thomas  Guy,  sole  founder  of  this 
hospital  in  his  lifetime,  A.  D.  MDCCXXI.,"  the  idea  which  struck 
him  most  forcibly  was  that  his  ancient  kinsman  had  not  waited  for 
his  executors  to  carry  out  his  will — he  had  carried  it  out  himself; 
and  though  an  old  man  before  the  building  was  commenced,  he  had 
lived  to  see  it  roofed  in,  and  was  sure  at  least  that  his  coffers  full 
of  guineas  had  not  found  their  way  into  Chancery  Court.  Mat- 
thew Vassar  then  and  there  determined  he  would  do  something  of 
the  same  kind,  only  he  would  not  leave  it  till  so  late  in  life. 

Having  visited  everything  of  interest  in  the  British  Isles,  they 
left  for  the  continent,  going  first  to  Belgium.  While  in  England 
Mr.  Vassar  had  wisely  engaged  an  experienced  person,  who  had 
been  several  times  over  the  customary  routes  in  Europe,  and  who 
spoke  several  of  the  continental  languages,  to  go  with  them  as 
guide  and  general  manager  of  the  tour.  Passing  through  Germany 
and  Switzerland  to  Italy,  they  returned  by  the  way  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  France,  thence  back  to  England ;  and  then  in  February, 
having  been  absent  ten  months,  returned  to  their  quiet  home  in 
Poughkeepsie. 

The  sights  of  Florence,  Rome  and  Paris  had  not  obliterated  Mr. 
Vassar's  intention  "  to  do  something  "  with  his  large  fortune.  He 
had  no  children,  and  therefore  was  not  embarrassed  with  any 
claims  upon  it  but  such  as  he  chose  to  recognize  ;  but  he  could 
not  readily  make  up  his  mind  what  to  do.  His  first  idea  was,  very 
naturally,  to  build  a  hospital,  like  Thomas  Guy,  but  he  did  not,  like 
him,  live  in  a  large  city,  and  there  really  was  no  particular  need 
of  a  large  hospital  in  Poughkeepsie.  Then  he  thought  of  an 


226  MATTHEW     VASSAR. 

asylum  for  the  old  and  infirm,  but  there  was  no  pressing  necessity 
for  that,  either,  on  a  large  scale,  and  he  had  no  desire  to  found  a 
petty  institution  of  any  kind.  While  he  was  thinking  over  various 
projects,  circumstances  at  last  directed  his  thoughts  towards  female 
education.  He  had  a  niece  who  was  a  teacher  of  more  than  local 
reputation  in  Poughkeepsie ;  this  was  Miss  Lydia  Booth,  the 
daughter  of  his  sister  Maria.  Her  school  was  very  popular  with 
the  best  citizens  of  the  vicinity,  and  her  rooms  could  not  accommo- 
date all  the  pupils  for  whom  application  was  made,  and  Mr.  Vassar 
very  generously  purchased,  and  transferred  to  her  use,  a  com- 
modious house,  with  several  acres  of  ground  attached,  which  had 
once  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  great  landed  "  Patroon  "  Liv- 
ingston. Here,  on  this  elevated  piece  of  ground  on  Garden 
street,  Miss  Booth  opened  the  "  Cottage  Hill  Seminary."  Having 
conferred  a  substantial  benefit  on  his  niece,  he  naturally  took  an 
interest  in  her  success,  visited  the  school  frequently,  and  listened 
always  with  pleasure,  and  often  with  profit,  to  her  lucid  explana- 
tions, and  was  a  witness  to  the  excellent  system  of  management 
which  the  clear  head  and  kind  heart  of  Miss  Booth  had  established 
at  Cottage  Hill.  He  often  conversed  with  her  on  the  subject  of 
the  higher  education  of  females  of  which  she  was  an  ardent  advo- 
cate, and  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  to  this  lady's  influence  upon 
her  uncle  that  Matthew  Vassar  finally  determined  to  devote  his 
fortune  to  that  object.  Still  he  did  not  hurry ;  he  meant  to  take 
plenty  of  time  for  consideration  and  for  consultation  with  those  he 
deemed  his  wisest  friends ;  and  other  objects  of  immediate  public 
interest  also  occupied  much  of  his  time. 

.At  this  period  the  village  of  Poughkeepsie  was  governed  by  an 
elective  body  called  the  board  of  trustees,  equivalent  to  the 
"  selectmen  "  of  New  England  towns.  Mr.  Vassar  long  filled  the 
position  of  president  of  this  board,  and  consequently  much  of  his 
time  was  taken  up  with  official  duties. 

Mr.  Vassar  had  at  last  fully  decided  to  what  object  his  money 
should  be  devoted,  but  he  was  naturally  a  very  cautious  man,  and 


MATTHEW    VASSAR.  22/ 

he  meant  to  have  all  the  preliminaries  well  considered  before  pub- 
licly committing  himself.  He  consulted  with  eminent  architects  as 
to  the  costs  of  one  or  more  buildings,  calculated  to  accommodate 
^four  hundred  pupils,  with  rooms  for  teachers,  servants,  and  other 
necessary  appendages.  He  meant  that  this  institution  should  be 
upon  a  magnificent  scale  as  to  equipment,  accommodations  of  all 
kinds,  furnishing  included ;  and  many  experienced  persons  were 
consulted  as  to  the  details  of  the  interior  arrangements.  Mr.  Vas- 
sar  was  neither  selfish  nor  egotistical,  and  was  not  anxious  to  reap 
all  the  glory  of  this  intended  achievement ;  he  invited  his  two 
nephews,  Matthew  and  Guy  Vassar,  to  join  him  in  this  undertak- 
ing, but  they  declined ;  their  time  for  this  kind  of  work  had  not 
yet  come.  In  respect  to  active  participation  in  carrying  out  Mr. 
Vassar's  plans  (though  he  did  not  contribute  any  of  the  funds), 
Professor  Jewett  was  his  principal  coadjutor.  Mr.  Swan  drafted 
the  bill  to  be  presented  to  the  Legislature,  incorporating  "  Vassar 
Female  College."  The  act  of  incorporation  was  passed  at  Albany 
on  the  1 8th  of  January,  1861,  and  was  signed  by  the  governor  in 
advance  of  all  other  bills.  The  above  name  was  changed  and  im- 
proved by  act  of  a  subsequent  Legislature,  in  1867,  by  omitting  the 
word  female.  The  institution  became  simply  "Vassar  College." 
Of  the  incorporators  nearly  half  were  either  residents  of  Pough- 
keepsie  or  vicinity,  and  a  majority  of  them  were  Baptists,  but  they 
wisely  declined  to  give  any  sectarian  bias  to  the  college.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  act  of  incorporation  was  passed,  on  the  26th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1861,  Mr.  Vassar  called  a  meeting  of  the  incorporators,  at 
the  Gregory  (now  Morgan)  House,  in  Poughkeepsie,  and  there  pre- 
sented to  the  trustees  a  tin  box,  in  which  was  contained  the  funds, 
$400,000,  appropriated  by  him  for  the  founding  of  the  college. 
These  consisted  of  certificates  of  stock,  bonds  and  mortgages,  and 
a  deed  of  conveyance  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land  for  the  building 
site  and  surrounding  grounds.  Matthew  Vassar,  Jr.,  a  nephew  of 
the  founder,  was  chosen  treasurer  of  the  board,  and  the  funds  were 
placed  in  his  custody.  Professor  Jewett  was  chosen  president. 


225  MATTHEW     VASSAR. 

The  college  site  and  farm  land  attached  is  situated  about  two 
miles  from  the  centre  of  Poughkeepsie,  on  the  easterly  side;  it  is  a 
beautiful  location,  containing  woods,  lawns,  a  clear,  pure  lake,  on 
which  rowing  is  practised  in  summer  and  skating  in  winter,  ele- 
vated knolls,  from  which  extensive  and  beautiful  views  are  obtained. 
Ground  was  broken  for  the  building  on  the  4th  of  June,  1861,  by 
Mr.  Vassar,  in  the  presence  of  a  few  friends ;  this  first  spadeful  of 
earth  is  preserved  in  a  jar  in  the  geological  cabinet  of  the  college. 
The  work  of  raising  this  large  building  went  on  through  the  whole 
four  years  of  the  civil  war,  and  was  opened  for  the  reception  of 
pupils  in  the  fall  of  1865.  And  thus  Matthew  Vassar  had  the 
satisfaction,  like  Guy,  of  London,  of  seeing  his  great  work  com- 
pleted "in  his. lifetime." 

Vassar  College  is  very  nearly  five  hundred  feet  in  length,  with  a 
breadth,  through  the  centre,  of  two  hundred  feet,  with  transverse 
wings  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet;  it  is  of  brick,  with  trim- 
mings of  blue  freestone ;  the  central  section  is  five  stories  in 
height,  the  wings  four;  there  are  five  partition  walls  of  brick,  fire- 
proof, extending  from  the  cellar  to  the  roof.  There  are  within  the 
building  twenty-five  thousand  feet  of  pipes  for  gas  and  water,  and 
six  thousand  feet  of  lightning-rods  scientifically  spread  over  the 
building.  There  are  separate  apartments  for  the  officers  and 
managers,  halls  for  lectures,  a  chapel,  music- rooms,  dining-hall, 
parlors,  library,  art  gallery,  natural  history  cabinet,  chemical  labora- 
tories, kitchen,  laundry,  etc.  There  are  separate  buildings  for  the 
gymnasium,  riding-school,  and  astronomical  observatory ;  the  col- 
lege is  particularly  rich  in  philosophical  apparatus ;  and  in  the  art 
department  there  are,  in  the  main  gallery,  over  five  hundred  care- 
fully selected  paintings  and  sculptures.  In  the  medical  lecture- 
room  all  the  newest  and  most  approved  models  are  found.  The 
upper  floors  are  used  as  dormitories.  Its  natural  history  collection 
is  unsurpassed  by  any  college  in  the  country. 

The  college  faculty  had  early  resolved  that  the  29th  of  April, 
which  was  the  anniversary  of  the  birth-day  of  Matthew  Vassar, 


MATTHEW     VASSAR.  2  29 

should  be  annually  observed  as  a  holiday  by  the  collegians ;  it  is 
called  "  Founder's  Day."  On  the  first  anniversary  which  occurred, 
the  students  decided  to  give  their  honored  friend  and  patron  a 
public  reception,  in  token  of  their  gratitude.  Wishing  to  give  Mr. 
Vassar  a  pleasant  surprise,  he  was  not  informed  of  the  arrange- 
ments. It  was  his  seventy- fourth  birthday  anniversary ;  late  in  the 
afternoon  of  "  Founder's  Day  "  the  president  of  the  college  rode 
out  to  Springside,  as  if  making  an  ordinary  call,  and  asked  Mr. 
Vassar  to  go  over  to  the  college  with  him  ;  this  was  an  ordinary 
enough  proceeding,  and  awakened  no  suspicion  of  anything  unu- 
sual. But  what  a  sight  met  his  view  immediately  after  entering 
the  broad  avenue  'beyond  the  porter's  lodge  !  Covered  with  ever- 
greens was  a  noble  triumphal  arch,  on  which  were  the  words, 
"  Welcome  to  the  Founder,"  with  his  monogram  and  the  dates, 
"April  29th,  1792-April  29th,  1866,"  while  brilliant  banners  and 
gay  flags  waved  gracefully  in  the  gentle  breeze.  Before  he  had 
time  to  thoroughly  take  in  the  meaning  of  this,  the  students,  in 
two  columns,  under  the  lead  of  a  young  lady  acting  as  marshal, 
formed  a  marching  escort  on  each  side  of  the  carriage,  and  above 
every  smiling  face  waved  a  white  handkerchief  in  salutation  of 
their  benefactor,,  while  at  the  main  entrance  stood  the  faculty  and 
teachers,  on  the  broad  portico ;  while  a  little  to  the  rear  a  choir, 
composed  of  the  best  voices  in  the  college,  burst  into  a  song  of 
welcome,  written  for  the  occasion.  So  totally  unprepared  was  Mr. 
Vassar  for  this  spontaneous  and  heartfelt  ovation,  that,  though 
usually  ready  enough  in  speech,  words  failed  him,  and  happy  tears 
alone  betrayed  his  emotion.  In  the  chapel  a  programme  of  ad- 
dresses and  music  had  been  arranged  for  the  evening.  Here,  in 
a  prominent  position,  was  a  portrait  of  "the  Founder"  trimmed 
with  evergreens,  and  above  it,  in  illuminated  letters,  were  the 
words,  "  The  desire  accomplished  is  sweet  to  the  soul."  In  that 
hour  who  shall  say  that  Matthew  Vassar  did  not  feel  more  than 
repaid  for  all  the  time,  trouble  and  money  which  he  had  conse- 
crated to  the  work  of  female  education  ! 


230  MATTHEW    VASSAR. 

Nor  had  his  work  been  completed  any  too  soon  for  him  to  see 
the  matured  fruit  of  the  seed  which  he  had  planted ;  only  two 
years  more  of  life  remained  to  him.  One  day,  leaving  home  in 
apparent  health,  he  went  as  was  his  custom  to  a  meeting  of  the 
trustees  of  the  college ;  he  wished  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of 
the  gentlemen  present  some  views  which  he  deemed  essential  to 
the  welfare  of  the  institution,  and  in  his  closing  sentences  there 
seemed  some  feeling  of  premonition  that  his  work  was  done. 
These  were  his  closing  words  :  "  Now  then,  gentlemen,  I  leave  the 
college  in  your  charge  ;  I  do  not  believe  that  I  will  ever  have  occa- 
sion to  address  you  again."  Saying  this,  he  waved  his  right  hand, 
as  if  to  enforce  his  remark,  his  head  dropped  backward  on  the 
chair;  some  of  the  trustees  attempted  to  raise  him — Matthew 
Vassar  was  dead.  He  had  done  for  Vassar  College  all  that 
he  could  in  his  life,  and  his  will  testified  for  him  after  he  was 
gone,  that  its  interests  were  the  nearest  and  dearest  object  of  his 
heart,  outside  of  his  own  household.  It  was  not  alone  in  the  noble 
endowment  which  he  left  that  his  influence  in  favor  of  the  proper 
education  of  women  was  felt;  but  perhaps  even  more  effi- 
ci-ent  than  the  money  which  he  devoted  to  this  work  was  his 
influence  upon  other  leading  minds  throughout  the  country,  which 
were  led  by  this  practical  example  to  acknowledge,  not  only  the 
feasibility,  but  the  practical  benefit  of  the  thorough  mental  training 
of  the  future  mothers  of  the  land.  But  though  dead,  Matthew 
Vassar's  spirit  was  marching  on;  and  for  his  special  object  of 
interest  one  of  his  kin  stood  ready  to  take  his  place. 

MATTHEW  VASSAR,  JR.,  "the  founder's  nephew,"  and  a  son  of  his 
brother,  John  Guy  Vassar,  became  the  inspiring  spirit  of  the  insti- 
tution, and  his  history  is  almost  as  interesting  as  that  of  his  uncle. 
He  was  born  in  Poughkeepsie  in  1809,  in  the  famous  old  Van 
Kleeck  house,  which  was  the  first  substantial  dwelling  built  in  that 
vicinity.  It  was  constructed  of  rough  stone  by  Baltus  Van  Kleeck 
in  1 702,  who  was  one  of  the  early  immigrants  from  Holland,  and 
was  regarded  by  the  inhabitants  as  a  sort  of  garrison  in  case  of 


MATTHEW     VASSAR.  231 

attack  by  the  Indians,  the  upper  portion  of  the  walls  being  pierced 
for  musketry.  John  Guy  Vassar,  the  eldest  brother  of  "the 
founder,"  married  Margaret,  a  daughter  of  Baltus  Van  Kleeck,  a 
descendant  of  the  original  settler.  This  house  was  a  rallying 
point  for  all  the  patriots  of  the  "  Poughkeepsie  Precinct,"  and  here 
in  1788  (the  house  being  then  an  inn,  and  the  court-house  having 
been  burned  down)  the  convention  met  which  ratified  the  present 
form  of  the  National  Constitution.  From  his  earliest  youth, 
Matthew  Vassar,  Jr.,  must  have  absorbed  into  his  intellectual  life 
the  many  glorious  reminiscences  connected  with  his  birthplace. 
He  never  knew  his  father,  for  that  father  was  the  young  John  Guy 
Vassar  who,  when  this  son  was  too  young  to  retain  his  image  in 
his  memory,  was  suffocated  in  the  hop-vat,  after  the  fire  had  de- 
stroyed James  Vassar's  brewery.  Matthew  received  his  education 
in  his  native  town,  and  when  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age  he 
entered  into  the  employment  of  his  uncle,  at  the  famous  brewery, 
of  which  he  and  his  brother,  John  Guy  Vassar,  became  partners ; 
and  in  this  busiaess  both  continued  until  1863,  when  they  retired 
to  enjoy  the  fortunes  they  had  earned  by  faithful  industry  and 
intelligent  enterprise.  Mr.  Vassar  was  twice  married;  in  1834  to 
Mary  Parker  of  Poughkeepsie,  who  died  in  1851.  In  1870  he 
married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Edward  Beach,  who  still  survives ;  but 
of  neither  of  these  marriages  were  there  any  children.  He  was  a 
person  highly  respected  by  his  fellow-townsmen,  and  was  for  many 
years  a  town  trustee,  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  but 
would  never  consent  to  hold  any  political  office,  nor  that  of  mayor, 
which  was  frequently  urged  upon  him,  though  he  accepted  many 
positions  of  private  trust.  He  was  for  nearly  forty  years  a  Di- 
rector in  the  Farmers'  and  Manufacturers'  National  Bank,  also  a 
Director  and  Manager  of  the  Commercial  Insurance  Company  of 
New  York,  a  Trustee  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Lyceum;  he  was 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  also  of  the  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  and  one  of  the  Advisory  Com- 
mittee of  the  Old  Ladies'  Home. 

It  was  Mr.  Vassar's  nature  to  take  -up  with  great  earnestness 


232 


MATTHEW     VASSAR. 


whatever  he  engaged  in,  which  made  his  co-operation  especially 
appreciated  by  his  uncle,  in  the  organization  and  permanent  man- 
a^ement  of  Vassar  College.  In  fact  his  official  position  of  treasurer 
of  that  institution  occupied  the  greater  part  of  his  time  for  the  last 
twenty  years  of  his  life.  He  had  no  salary,  but  yet  was  con- 
scientiously at  the  college  every  day,  and  personally  overseeing 
every  detail  within  his  proper  sphere.  His  investment  of  the  funds 
intrusted  to  him  was  made  with  great  judgment.  After  his  death, 
when  a  successor  became  necessary,  it  was  found  that  the  bonds 
and  stocks  which  he  held  for  the  benefit  of  the  college  were  all 
above  par,  many  of  them  bearing  an  interest  of  from  ten  to  forty- 
five  per  cent.  In  1879,  when  the  trustees  wished  to  erect  a  new 
laboratory  for  the  department  of  chemistry  and  physics,  they  were 
at  a  loss  to  raise  the  necessary  funds ;  some  of  them  proposed  to 
obtain  credit  for  part  of  the  building  expenses,  but  Mr.  Vassar 
would  not  listen  to  this,  and  finally  said,  that  if  his  brother  John 
Guy  would  join  him,  they  would  build  the  laboratory  without  asking 
for  any  outside  help.  His  brother  acceded  to  the  proposition,  and 
the  new  laboratory  was  built,  and  equipped  in  a  manner  not  ex- 
ceeded by  any  other  in  the  United  States. 

These  brothers  also  united  their  funds  to  build  and  liberally 
endow  in  1880  a  home  for  aged  men ;  this  house  is  on  the  site  of 
the  old  block-house  built  by  Baltus  Van  Kleeck.  In  making  the 
presentation  to  the  board  of  managers,  and  at  the  same  time  add- 
ing an  endowment  of  $30,000,  Mr.  Vassar  said,  that  "as  Providence 
had  blessed  him  and  his  brother  John  with  some  of  this  world's 
goods,  they  had  deemed  it  proper  to  do  something  for  their  fellow- 
men,  and  that  they  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  old  men  who 
had  no  one  to  care  for  them  were  especially  deserving  of  protection 
at  the  hands  of  those  who  had  enough  and  to  spare.  This  home, 
designed  for  fifty  inmates,  is  fitted  up  in  a  very  liberal  style,  with 
library,  reading-room,  a  general  meeting  hall  for  use  of  a  social 
and  scientific  society  ;  a  laboratory,  and  an  art  gallery,  etc.  It  has 
also  spacious  grounds,  tastefully  laid  out— a  pleasant  asylum  in- 
deed, for  an  otherwise  friendless  old  age.  Another  project  of  the 


MATTHEW     VASSAR.  233 

brothers,  completed  since  the  decease  of  Matthew,  is  the  "  Vassar 
Brothers  Hospital,"  at  a  cost  of  $300,000. 

Mr.  Matthew  Vassar,  Jr.,  was  like  his  uncle,  "  the  founder,"  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  Church:  an  active  member  in  it,  but  never 
obtruding  his  theological  belief  on  others.  He  was  for  nearly 
twenty  years  a  trustee  and  clerk  of  the  church  in  Lafayette  street, 
and  to  it  and  towards  the  construction  of  a  new  edifice  was  a  liberal 
contributor.  Mr.  Vassar  died  at  -Poughkeepsie,  after  a  short  illness, 
on  the  loth  of  August,  1881,  in  his  seventy-third  year.  He  had  a 
large  property  in  banking  and  other  stocks,  quite  separate  from 
his  interest  in  his  uncle's  brewery  business.  By  his  will,  after  lib- 
erally providing  for  his  wife,  and  making  bequests  to  a  number  of 
his  'nephews,  nieces,  and  other  relatives,  and  legacies  to  all  the 
charitable  institutions  in  Poughkeepsie,  as  well  as  to  all  the 
churches  of  different  denominations,  including  the  Society  of 
Friends,  also  to  other  associations  of  the  town,  and  to  the  fire  de- 
partment, and  to  some  societies  in  New  York,  he  gives  to  Vas- 
sar College  $50,000  to'  found  a  "  Matthew  Vassar,  Jr.,"  scholar- 
ship fund,  to  aid  poor  scholars  in  the  payment  of  board  and  tuition 
fees,  and  $80,000  to  endow  two  chairs,  one  for  certain  languages, 
the  other  for  natural  science ;  to  his  executors,  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  the  hospital  previously  mentioned,  he  leaves  $75,000,  and 
an  endowment  of  $10,000.  Mr.  Vassar,  to  provide  against  all  con- 
tingencies of  a  legal  nature,  directs  in  his  will  that  if  any  of  his  be- 
quests should  be  adjudged,  they  shall  revert  equally  to  his  wife  and 
his  brother,  John  Guy,  "  with  the  confident  assurance  that  they  will 
appropriate  such  moneys  in  accordance  with  my  wishes  " — a  very 
wise  provision. 

John  Guy  Vassar,  brother  of  the  above  and  nephew  of  Matthew 
Vassar,  Sr.,  spent  his  life  in  good  works.  His  last  gift  to  Vassar 
College  was  the  handsome  sum  of  $25,000.  Active  benevolence 
did  not  spoil  any  of  this  family  as  business  men ;  they  accumu- 
lated great  wealth,  some  portion  of  which  we  have  here  recorded 
the  disposition  of,  but  of  their  private  acts  of  charity,  which  were 
large  and  continuous,  the  recording  angel  alone  knows  the  sum 
and  the  objects.  He  died  August  16,  1887. 


WILLIAM    E.   DODGE. 

WILLIAM  EARLE  DODGE  was  for  half  a  century  one  of  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  the  city  of  New  York,  though  he  was  a  native 
of  Connecticut — being  born  near  Hartford  in  1805.  His  father, 
David  Low  Dodge,  was  a^otton  manufacturer,  his  mill  being  situ- 
ated in  Bozrahville,  near  Norwich  ;  and  in  this  mill  William  E.  was 
employed  after  a  few  years  schooling,  which  did  not  exceed  the 
most  elementary  branches  of  education.  About  1815-17  the  cot- 
ton manufacture  declined  ;  the  business  was  abandoned,  and  Mr. 

D.  L.  Dodge  removed  with  his  family  to  New  York.     Here  he 
dealt  in  dry-goods,  having  a   partner  named   Ludlow.     William 

E.  commenced  his  mercantile  career  as  a  boy  in  the  wholesale 
dry-goods  store  at  304  Pearl  street,  near  Peck  Slip ;   he  began 
at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  taking  down  shutters,  lighting  the  fire  in 
the  old-fashioned  wood  stove,  sweeping  out  the   store,  carrying 
parcels  and  messages,  and  whatever  was  required  until  promoted 
to  a  clerkship.     He  continued  in  this  employment  until  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  when   he   opened   a   retail   store   in   a   small  way  in 
connection  with  a  young  man  named  Huntington,  a  college  gradu- 
ate and  not  acquainted  with  the  business  ;  but  having  some  means, 
being  the  son  of  one  of  his  late  employers :  the  latter  assisting  the 
young  people  by  endorsing   their  paper   to  some    extent — long 
credits  being  then  common.     The  new  firm  prospered,  and  three 
years  later  Mr.  Dodge  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Anson  Phelps 
— a  name   known    to  every  old  New  Yorker.     Mr.   Phelps  was 
already  a  wealthy  man,  an  importer  of  metals,  and  with  his  partner, 
Elisha  Peck,  had  founded  two  manufacturing  towns,  Ansonia  and 
Birmingham,  and  in  1833  had  erected  a  large  warehouse  on  the 
corner  of  Fulton  and  Cliff  streets ;  shortly  after  it  was  occupied 

(234) 


WILLIAM     E.    DODGE.  235 

this  building  suddenly  fell  down,  seven  persons  only  being  in  the 
place  at  the  time,  some  of  whom  were  hurt.  The  place  was  re- 
built and  William  E.  Dodge  was  invited  to  become  a  member  of 
the  firm,  with  another  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Phelps — the  firm-name 
becoming  now  Phelps,  Dodge  &  Co. 

Mr.  Dodge  appears  never  to  have  had  any  serious  reverses  in 
his  business  life.  He  soon  began  to  invest  money  in  land,  and 
about  1862  he  bought  the  large  tract  of  timber  land  on  Pine  creek, 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  built  a  saw-mill  at  a  place  called  Jersey  Shore. 
This  was  the  first  of  those  enormous  accumulations  of  land  which 
eventually  made  him  one  of  the  largest  individual  land-owners  in 
the  country.  His  transactions  in  lumber  were  afterwards  extended 
to'  the  South  and  Northwest ;  forest  tracts  of  from  one  hundred 
thousand  to  five  hundred  thousand  acres  being  successfully  pur- 
chased by  him  in  West  Virginia,  Georgia,  Texas,  Michigan,  Wis- 
consin, and  even  in  Canada.  Coal  and  railroads  next  attracted : 
the  profits  of  the  first  being  greatly  dependent  upon  the  develop- 
ment of  the  latter. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  incorporators  of  the  Erie,  and  re- 
mained on  the  board  of  directors  for  twelve  years,  and  held  the 
same  position  on  the  New  Jersey  Central  from  1843  to  l%73-  The 
Delaware,  Lackawana  &  Western  was  organized  in  his  orifice,  and 
subsequently  he  became  President  of  the  Houston  &  Texas  Rail- 
road, which  office  he  filled  for  seven  years.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  as  early  as  1855,  and  in 
1863  was  elected  vice-president  of  that  body,  and  in  1867  presi- 
dent. He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company,  the  Atlantic  Mutual  Marine  Insurance  Company,  the 
Bowery  Fire  Insurance  Company,  the  United  States  Trust  Com- 
pany, the  Greenwich  Savings  Bank,  the  City  Bank  and  the  Ameri- 
can Exchange  National  Bank,  and  in  all  these  institutions  he 
served  on  the  board  of  directors  from  their  organization  until  the 
time  of  his  death.  Besides  all  these  offices  and  duties,  the  busi- 
ness of  the  firm  was  never  neglected.  He  owned  an  immense 


236  WILLIAM     E.    DODGE. 

number  of  lumber  mills,  and  employed  for  years  two  thousand 
persons  in  the  various  manufacturing  villages  which  he  and  his 
partner  had  established  in  various  parts  of  the  country;  yet  he 
seemed  to  find  time  to  control  this  varied  business,  to  attend  meet- 
ings and  preside  at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  to  meet  his 
brother  directors  at  the  various  banks,  besides  fairly  meeting  all 
his  social  engagements,  attending  public  meetings,  occasionally 
lecturing,  running  Sunday-school  and.  temperance  societies  and 
acting  as  a  ruling  elder  in  the  church.  What  he  did  not  do 
appears  easier  to  tell  than  what  he  did. 

William  E.  Dodge  was  brought  up  in  the  faith  of  the  Presby- 
terians, and  from  this  creed  he  never  diverged.  When  he  was 
only  twelve  years  old  he  was  converted  during  a  revival  season 
and  became  a  member  of  the  church,  and  his  whole  life  was  pro- 
fessedly based  upon  Christian  principles.  Indeed,  his  affiliations 
with  Christian  associations,  missions  and  collateral  objects  are 
about  as  numerous  as  his  business  connections. 

It  is  but  just  to  mention  his  own  explanation  of  the  fact  that  his 
firm  was  sued  by  the  United  States  Government  in  1870  to  re- 
cover $1,000,000  for  alleged  undervaluation  of  imports  made  by 
Phelps,  Dodge  &  Co.  Mr.  Dodge  said  that  the  charge  was  false 
and  instigated  by  a  discharged  clerk ;  that  there  might  have  been 
unintentional  errors  in  invoices,  but  there  had  never  been  any  in- 
tention to  defraud  the  Government.  The  suit  was  compromised 
by  the  firm  paying  to  the  Government  $271,017.23.  Mr.  Dodge 
settled  by  compromise,  he  said,  because  he  was  an  old  man,  and 
his  senior  partner  older  ;  that  they  did  not  feel  like  being  dragged 
into  litigation  which  might  last  for  years,  and  during  which  they 
might  die  before  vindication  came ;  but,  he  further  said,  that  if  he 
had  been  a  younger  man  he  would  have  defended  the  suit  to  the 
bitter  end.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of  which  Mr.  Dodge 
was  at  the  time  president,  formally  expressed  their  firm  conviction 
in  the  integrity  of  the  firm  ;  and  the  other  justifying  fact  is  that 
the  United  States  officers  were  willing  to  settle  for  almost  a 


WILLIAM     E.    DODGE.  237 

quarter  of  the  sum  claimed.  If  there  had  been  frauds  to  the 
amount  of  one  million  dollars,  why  settle  for  less  than  three 
hundred  thousand?  The  reader  may  perhaps  be  better  able  to 
judge  of  this  matter  after  ascertaining  the  uses  to  which  Mr. 
Dodge  devoted  a  great  portion  of  his  wealth ! 

Mr.  Dodge  was  a  strict  Sabbatarian,  of  the  old  Puritan  type, 
and  went  so  far  as  to  sell  out  his  railroad  stock  and  to  abandon 
his  official  position  on  the  several  roads  with  which  he  was  con- 
nected as  soon  as  the  majority  of  the  directors  voted  to  run 
Sunday  trains.,  So  strict  was  he  in  his  views  of  the  sacredness 
of  the  Sabbath,  that  he  refused  to  be  present,  on  the  invitation  of 
General  Newton,  at  the  interesting  occasion  of  exploding  the 
gre"at  rock  at  Heil  Gate,  because  it  took  place  on  a  Sunday. 

On  another  occasion,  when  a  reporter  for  the  daily  press  called 
to  see  him  in  regard  to  a  proposed  new  charter  for  the  city,  he  de- 
clined to  see  him,  not  on  the  ground  that  he  objected  to  be 
"  interviewed,"  but  that  he  "  never  engaged  in  secular  conver- 
sation on  the  Sabbath,"  that  being  the  day  the  reporter  had 
selected,  hoping  to  find  him  at  leisure.  When  the  new  penal 
code  was  inaugurated,  Mr.  Dodge  was  one  of  its  most  zealous 
supporters,  and  actively  engaged  in  trying  to  secure  strict  con- 
formity to  it,  so  far  as  it  affected  the  observance  of  the  first  day  of 
the  week.  To  those  who  entertain  broader  views  of  the  legiti- 
mate uses  of  the  day  of  rest  Mr.  Dodge's  action  on  this  subject 
may  seem  overstrained  and  even  puerile,  but  at  least  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  he  was  entirely  sincere  and  honest  in  the  views  he 
expressed  upon  this  matter. 

He  was  a  great  friend  of  "  revival "  preachers,  and  was  one  of 
those  who  aided  in  inducing  Moody  and  Sankey  to  come  to  this 
country,  and  who  paid  the  necessary  expenses  of  fitting  up  the 
Madison  Square  Garden  (then  known  as  the  Hippodrome)  for  their 
services.  Another  mode  of  Christian  work,  somewhat  out  of  the 
common  course,  was  his  establishment  of  the  "Jerry  McAuley 
Mission,"  in  the  old  Cremone  Garden.  This  was  a  mission  de- 


238  WILLIAM     E.    DODGE. 

signed  to  reach  the  most  hopeless  and  degraded  classes,  and  was 
at  first  started  in  Water  street,  one  of  the  lowest  localities  in  the 
great  city  of  New  York.  Nothing  in  the  way  of  Christian  work 
looked  hopeless  to  Mr.  Dodge.  City  missions  among  the  very 
poor  were  among  his  pet  hobbies,  though  neither  his  sympathy 
nor  his  aid  was  limited  to  that  particular  branch  of  benevolence. 
His  was  one  of  the  heaviest  towards  the  erection  of  that  fine  and 
commodious  building  on  Fourth  avenue  and  Twenty-third  street, 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Mr.  Dodge  did  not  limit  his  Christian  sympathies  to  his  own 
land.  He  was  President  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions,  and  contributed  liberally  to  establish  the  mission 
in  Syria,  and  the  Women's  College  at  Beyrout.  He  was  appointed 
a  delegate,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  convention  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance,  which  met  in  New  York  in  1873.  It  was  a  com- 
mon thing,  if  one  visited  a  Presbyterian  Sunday  School  in  any  part 
of  the  city,  to  find  Mr.  Dodge  making  an  address,  or  to  hear  that 
he  had  recently  done  so.  He  was  Vice-President  of  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  and  of  the  New  York  Colonization  Society. 
He  was  a  Director  on  the  Board  of  the  American  Bible  Society, 
the  American  Tract  Society,  and  of  the  Syria  and  Liberia  Protestant 
Colleges.  It  was  not  only  his  own  race  for  which  he  worked  and 
expended  two  or  three  ample  fortunes  in  gifts  and  donations.  The 
colored  people  and  the  Indians  received  their  share.  Mr.  Dodge 
was  greatly  interested  in  the  Lincoln  and  Biddle  Universities,  and 
gave  largely  both  to  them  and  to  the  institutions  at  Hampton  and 
Carlisle,  for  the  education  and  civilization  of  the  red  race. 

It  is  not  easy  amid  so  many  benevolent  and  charitable  institu- 
tions with  which  Mr.  Dodge  was  connected,  to  say  which  "had  the 
leading  place  in  his  mind ;  but  perhaps  it  would  not  be  far  from 
wrong  if  this  position  were  ascribed  to  the  temperance  cause,  or 
to  be  more  exact,  the  Total  Abstinence  movement.  Extreme  in 
all  his  views  bearing  upon  the  duties  and  regulations  of  life,  he 
early  identified  himself  as  a  soldier  of  the  modern  crusade,  against 


WILLIAM     E.    DODGE.  239 

"all  which  will  intoxicate."  The  National  Temperance  Society 
was  organized  in  1865,  in  Mr.  Dodge's  office  in  Cliff  street;  he 
also  gave  $20,000  to  the  society,  towards  a  working  capital  of 
$100,000.  He  bought  immense  quantities  of  temperance  litera- 
ture, to  be  distributed  among  the  freedmen.  He  frequently  went 
before  Congressional  committees,  to  give  testimony  in  regard  to 
the  liquor  traffic.  He  was  engaged  to  speak  at  a  temperance 
meeting,  to  be  held  in  the  great  hall  at  Cooper  Union,  when  he 
was  seized  with  his  last  fatal  illness.  Dr.  Irenaeus  Prime,  an  old- 
time  friend  of  Mr.  Dodge,  wrote,  shortly  after  his  death,  in  the 
columns  of  the  New  York  Observer,  these,  among  many  other 
beautiful  things,  regarding  his  life.  He  says : 

"I  have  often  heard  him  relate  his  experiences  as  a  boy  in  a 
store,  contrasting  his  duties  as  the  youngest  clerk  with  the  work 
of  boys  now.  His  father  was  a  prosperous  man  of  business,  and 
might  easily  enough  have  brought  him  up  in  idleness,  which  is 
supposed  by  many  fools  to  be  the  same  as  brought  up  a  gentle- 
man. But  the  lad  was  placed  as  a  clerk  in  a  store,  and  it  was  his 
duty  in  the  morning  to  take  down  the  shutters  and  get  things 
ready  for  business.  To  do  this  he  had  to  get  up  before  daylight 
in  winter,  and  hurry  down  to  the  store  ;  and  all  day  long  he  was 
running  of  errands,  carrying  parcels  home  for  customers,  and 
doing  anything  else  that  he  was  told  to  do.  This  discipline  he  saw 
was  good  for  him,  and  it  woyld  be  better  for  the  boys  now  if  they 
went  through  the  same  seasoning  process.  It  is  good  to  bear  the 
yoke  in  youth.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  began  the  service  of 
Christ,  and  never  left  it  for  a  day  till  he  heard  his  Master  say,  that 
Friday  morning,  '  Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.' 

"  One  of  the  most  beautiful  chapters  that  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray 
wrote  was  the  sketch  of  the  prayer-meeting  at  aunt  Betsey's ;  it 
Was  on  Ann  street,  in  the  humble  room  where  dwelt  an  aged,  infirm 
colored  woman.  There  a  few  pious  young  men  were  wont  to  meet 
and  pray  with  her.  I  know  the  names  of  only  four  of  them,  and  they 
are  now  all  dead,  for  the  meeting  was  held  more  than  sixty  years 


240  WILLIAM     E.    DODGE. 

ago,  and  I  have  written  sketches  of  three  of  those  men — the  Hon. 
James  Harper,  mayor  of  this  city ;  Nicholas  Murray,  D.  D ,  the 
Kirwan  of  the  New  York  Observer ;  the  Hon.  William  B.  Kinney, 
United  States  Minister  to  Italy;  and  now  I  am  writing  of  the 
fourth,  the  Hon.  William  E.  Dodge. 

"  There  are  others  who  have  wealth,  and  are  as  free  to  give  as 
he  was.  But  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  any  man  of  his  wealth  who 
would  do  so  much  for  others,  besides  giving  largely.  I  wrote  to 
him  that  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  being  very  poor,  was  actually  in 
want  of  clothes  for  himself,  and  I  added,  playfully :  '  He  is  a  man 
just  about  of  your  size.'  The  next  day  he  came  up  into  my  third- 
story  room,  lugging  a  bundle  much  larger  round  than  his  body.  I 
remonstrated  with  him  for  taking  that  labor  on  himself,  but  he 
said  he  preferred  to  do  it,  rather  than  have  his  coachman  leave  the 
horses.  The  bundle  was  a  complete  wardrobe  for  the  good 
shepherd,  and  covered  him  many  a  time  when  he  preached  the 
Word. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  temperance  man,  practising  total  abstinence 
himself,  advocating  it  eloquently,  but  without  bitterness  toward 
them  that  are  without.  Neither  in  public  or  private  did  he  say  a 
hard  word  of  those  who  did  not  train  in  his  company." 

Of  the  number  and  variety  of  individual  cases  of  need  assisted 
by  Mr.  Dodge,  there  has  never  been  kept  any  record ;  but  it  is 
estimated  that  for  many  years  he  gave  away  annually  about 
$200,000. 

One  form  of  donation  was  building  churches  for  impecunious 
congregations  in  the  South  and  West.  He  gave  $12,000  towards 
building  the  Christian  Home  for  Intemperate  Men,  and  $1,000  a 
year  for  its  support.  He  also  gave  a  similar  amount  towards  sus- 
taining free  gospel  services  on  Sunday,  in  the  Cooper  Union. 
Robert  College,  in  Constantinople,  was  one  of  his  beneficiaries. 

In  politics  Mr.  Dodge  was  a  "  Henry  Clay  Whig "  while  the 
Whig  party  existed,  when  he  naturally  gravitated  toward  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which  nom- 


WILLIAM     E.    DODGE.  241 

inated  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency.  During  the  war,  he 
acted  as  Chairman  of  the  New  York  branch  of  the  Christian  Com- 
mission, and  also  was  an  active  agent  in  the  work  of  the  Sanitary 
Commission.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Union  Defence  Com- 
mittee, organized  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  of  the  Union 
League  Club,  but  from  the  latter  he  afterward  resigned  on  account' 
of  his  temperance  views.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Peace  Con- 
vention, held  in  Washington  in  1861,  and  in  1865,  elected  Repre- 
sentative to  Congress,  where  he  served  on  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Affairs.  After  the  election  of  General  Grant  to  the  Presi- 
dency, Mr.  Dodge  was  appointed  a  Commissioner  on  Indian 
Affairs.  In  1 88 1,  when  Mr.  Dodge  visited  England,  he  found  his 
reputation  as  a  philanthropist  had  gone  before  him;  he  was  invited 
to  address  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  London,  and 
became  the  guest  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  Lord  Shaftesbury  and  other 
distinguished  men. 

Mr.  Dodge's  city  residence  was  pleasantly  situated  on  Madison 
avenue  ;  in  the  summer  he  occupied  a  beautiful  home  overlooking 
the  Hudson  at  Tarry  town ;  and  here  he  celebrated  his  "golden 
wedding,"  in  June,  1878.  He  attained  very  nearly  to  the  age  of 
seventy-eight,  and  was  ill  only  a  few  days  previous  to  his  death, 
which  occurred  February  Qth,  1883.  His  death  was  nearly  coin- 
cident with  that  of  Governor  Marshall  Jewell,  of  Connecticut,  who 
was  allied  to  the  family  by  marriage ;  a  son  of  Mr.  Dodge  having 
married  a  daughter  of  Governor  Jewell.  Mr.  Dodge  left  a  widow 
and  seven  sons.  His  estate,  notwithstanding  the  liberal  hand 
with  which  he  had  been  distributing  for  thirty  years,  was  estimated 
at  $5,000,000.  Having  made  ample  provision  for  his  wife,  sons, 
other  relatives,  dependents,  and  a  number  of  old  and  faithful  em- 
ployes, Mr.  Dodge  bequeathed  the  following  sums  to  various 
institutions : 

To  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions $50,000 

To  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions 50,000 

To  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
16 


242  WILLIAM     E.    DODGE. 

To  the  Education  of  Young  Men  for  the  Ministry $50,000 

To  the  American  Tract  Society 20,000 

To  the  City  Missions  and  Tract  Society.  . 20,000 

To  the  Syrian  Protestant  College 20,000 

To  the  American  Bible  Society 10,000 

To  the  American  Sunday  School  Union 10,000 

To  the  National  Temperance  Society 10,000 

To  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication 10,000 

To  the  Lincoln  University 500 

To  the  Children's  Aid  Society 5,ooo 

To  the  Howard  University 5,ooo 

To  the  Atlanta  University 500 

To  the  Hampton  Institute 5,ooo 

To  the  Presbyterian  Board  for  Aged  Ministers 5,ooo 

To  the  American  Seamen's  Friend  Society 500 

To  the  International  Commission  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 5,ooo 

To  the  McAuley  Mission 5,000 

To  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 500 

To  the  American  Museum  of  National  History 


W.  C.  RALSTON. 


WILLIAM    C.  RALSTON. 

MR.  WILLIAM  C.  RALSTON,  whose  tragical  death  occurred  in  San 
Francisco  some  eight  years  ago,  was,  previous  to  his  decease,  the 
foremost  man  in  the  State  of  California;  not  so  much  on  account 
of  his  great  wealth,  or  his  mode  of  obtaining  it,  but  for  the  wise 
and  generous  use  he  made  of  it,  in  building  up  the  industries  of 
the  'place  and  in  assisting  in  every  direction  to  develop  the  re- 
sources of  the  country. 

It  was  truly  said  of  him  that  he  did  more  than  any  other  single 
individual  to  secure  a  good  municipal  organization  for  the  infant 
city,  aiding,  by  his  sympathy  and  money,  weak  manufactories  and 
business  enterprises,  as  well  as  public  and  benevolent  institutions, 
which  tended  to  give  a  moral  and  elevated  tone  to  the  society 
then  gathering  from  all  quarters  of  the  world  to  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific.  Mr.  Ralston  was  among  those  who  pressed  early  through 
the  Golden  Gate;  and,  among  the  thousands  who  in  1849-50  en- 
tered the  auriferous  territory  of  California,  there  was  no  man  of 
larger  brain  or  nobler  heart  than  William  C.  Ralston. 

Ralston  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  being  born  at  Wellsville,  in  that 
State,  on  January  I2th,  1826.  His  father  was  a  carpenter  and 
builder,  the  two  trades  being  united,  as  is  usual  outside  of  the 
great  centres  of  business,  and  for  several  years  William  assisted 
his  father  in  the  workshop.  His  course  of  life  in  California  was 
for  many  years  prosperous  without  example,  but  no  one  envied 
him,  for  he  had  an  open  hand  to  all  who  needed  assistance,  and  for 
the  quarter  of  a  century  that  he  lived  in  San  Francisco  or  its 
vicinity  he  showed  himself  the  friend  of  all  classes  of  persons. 
The  struggling  young  mechanic,  the  man  in  any  position  in  life 

(243) 


2  ,,  WILLIAM     C.    RALSTON. 

» 

who  was  looking  out  for  a  helping  hand,  always  thought  first  of 
William  C.  Ralston.  After  his  death  there  were  many  long 
homilies  in  the  Eastern  papers  particularly  dilating  upon  the  fact 
"that  money,  even  millions,  does  not  bring  happiness."  That 
money  alone  does  not  is  a  sufficiently  trite  remark,  but  none  of 
these  pointed  out  the  other  fact,  that  it  was  in  his  case  not  the  pos- 
session of  money,  but  the  loss  of  it,  which  caused  his  despondency. 
While  he  had  it  he  was  happy  and  made  others  so. 

Mr.  Ralston  was  connected  with  the  Bank  of  California.  The 
letters  of  credit  which  it  issued  were  available,  not  only  throughout 
the  United  States,  but  in  Europe,  India,  China,  Australia  and  in 
South  America.  Under  the  liberal  views  of  Mr.  Ralston,  who  was 
its  president,  the  funds  of  the  bank  were  loaned  to  many  enter- 
prises which  have  aided  materially  in  the  permanent  prosperity  of 
the  city.  Perhaps  not  all  the  care  was  used  that  should  have 
been  in  securing  the  bank  from  unexpected  calls  of  large  amounts. 
At  least  the  sudden  catastrophe  which  overtook  the  bank  and  Mr. 
Ralston  at  the  same  time  must  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that, 
though  the  institution  was  possessed  of  ample  assets  to  cover  all 
its  indebtedness,  it  was  not  able  in  August,  1875,  to  respond  to  a 
call  of  Mr.  James  C.  Flood,  who  made  a  sudden  demand  for 
nearly  $6,000,000.  The  bank  closed  its  doors,  and  with  a  pre- 
cipitancy which  seems  strange,  in  the  light  of  all  that  is  known  of 
Mr.  Ralston's  value  to  the  city  and  its  institutions,  he  was  im- 
mediately asked  for  his  resignation.  This  was  the  intolerable 
humiliation  which  the  great-hearted  millionaire  found  unbearable ; 
nor  did  it  seem  necessar^.  There  was  no  necessity,  nor  any  ex- 
pectation in  the  board  of  finance,  for  bankruptcy,  and  the  institu- 
tion could  have  been  reorganized  without  putting  this  affront  upon 
its  president.  Mr.  Ralston  surrendered  all  his  available  personal 
property  to  satisfy  the  deficiencies  of  the  bank.  He  went  out  to 
North  Beach  to  bathe,  was  carried  out  by  the  flood-tide  and 
drowned.  This  was  on  the  2;th  of  August,  1875.  A  boy  near 
by  on  the  beach  witnessed  the  event,  and  thus  described  it :  After 


WILLIAM     C.    RALSTON.  245 

putting  on  his  bathing-suit  he  sat  down  on  the  shore,  and,  tearing 
up  some  papers,  threw  the  pieces  into  the  sea ;  then  he  drank 
something  out  of  a  phial,  and  immediately  plunged  into  the  surf. 
After  swimming  about  two  hundred  yards  he  disappeared  behind 
a  vessel.  But  a  short  time  elapsed  before  his  body  drifted  to- 
wards the  shore.  Help  was  summoned,  but  life  was  already 
extinct.  In  the  bathing-house  was  found  Mr.  Ralston's  statement 
to  the  bank  and  a  small  sum  of  money.  How  the  community 
looked  upon  Mr.  Ralston,  and  how  upon  his  detractors,  we  shall 
briefly  show  by  extracts  from  public  addresses  made  upon  the 
occasion,  and  the  action  of  various  associations  with  which  he  had 
been  connected  and  with  charities  which  he  had  patronized. 

One  of  the  morning  papers  of  San  Francisco  had  been  very 
bitter  and  apparently  unjust  in  its  criticisms  upon  Mr.  Ralston's 
cpurse.  The  calumnies  said  to  have  been  set  afloat  from  this 
source  had  greatly  injured,  not  only  Mr.  Ralston,  but  the  credit  of 
the  bank,  and  undoubtedly  helped  to  precipitate  the  crisis. 

Early  in  September  a  public  meeting  was  called  in  these  words: 
"All  the  friends  of  the  late  William  C.  Ralston  are  requested  to 
meet  at  Union  Hall  this  evening,  September  8th,  1875,  at  eight 
o'clock."  Long  before  the  time  of  opening  arrived  the  hall  was 
crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  thousands  were  unable  to  ob- 
tain admittance.  A  prominent  broker,  Mr.  G.  W.  Smiley,  pre- 
sided, with  a  list  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  vice-presidents, 
composed  of  the  leading  business  and  professional  men  of  the 
city.  A  meeting  was  organized  outside  in  the  vicinity  of  the  hall, 
and  another  on  the  corner  of  Third  and  Howard  streets.  The 
leading  orators  of  the  place  addressed  the  several  meetings.  Col- 
onel W.  H.  Barnes  took  up  in  order  the  several  charges  which 
had  been  brought  against  the  deceased,  and  showed  either  their 
utter  falsity,  or  grounds  of  justification  in  each  case.  No  eulogy 
was  too  strong  to  express  the  feeling  of  the  audience,  and  the 
same  animus  was  displayed  among  the  thousands  of  all  classes, 
who  hung  around  the  improvised  platforms  of  the  outside  speak- 


246  WILLIAM     C.    RALSTON. 

ers.  A  series  of  resolutions  was  adopted,  expressive  of  the  "  irre- 
parable loss  the  city  had  sustained,"  and  denouncing  in  the 
severest  terms  the  course  of  a  portion  of  the  press,  in  hastening 
to  telegraph  abroad  unfounded  and  injurious  aspersions  on  Mr. 
Ralston,  and  consequently  to  the  injury  of  the  Bank  of  California. 
The  second  resolution  reads  as  follows  :  Resolved,  "  That  in  review- 
ing the  life  of  William  C.  Ralston,  deceased,  we  recognize  one  of 
the  first  citizens  of  San  Francisco ;  the  master  spirit  of  her  indus- 
trial enterprises ;  the  most  bounteous  giver  to  her  charities  ;  the 
founder  of  her  financial  credit,  and  the  warm  supporter  of  every 
public  and  private  effort  to  augment  her  prosperity  and  welfare. 
That  to  his  sagacity,  activity  and  enterprise  San  Francisco  owes 
much  of  her  present  material  prosperity,  and  in  his  death  has  sus- 
tained an  irreparable  loss.  That  in  his  business  conceptions  he 
was  a  giant,  in  social  life  an  unswerving  friend,  and  in  all  the 
attributes  of  his  character  he  was  a  man  worthy  of  love  and 
trust." 

This  and  other  appreciative  resolutions  were  accepted  by  the 
audience  with  a  unanimous  "Aye,"  "  that  sounded,"  said  one  who 
was  present,  "  like  an  explosion  of  a  park  of  artillery." 

The  pulpit  was  unanimous  in  recognizing  the  great  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart  of  the  dead  banker.  "  The  aim  of  his  life,"  said 
Rev.  T.  K.  Noble,  of  Plymouth  Church,  "  was  not  to  pull  down  but 
to  build  up.  What  enterprise  can  you  mention,  looking  to  the 
betterment  of  our  material  interests,  in  which  he  did  not  have 
part?  In  the  building  of  railroads;  in  the  establishment  of  lines 
of  steamships  to  Australia,  to  China,  to  Japan;  in  the  manufacture 
of  silk ;  in  the  Pacific  Woolen  Mills,  the  Bay  Sugar  Refinery,  the 
West  Coast.  Furniture  Manufactory,  in  the  Cornell  Watch  Manu- 
factory, and  in  those  superb  buildings,  the  '  Grand  Hotel '  and  the 
'  Palace  Hotel,'  and  in  many  other  enterprises,  I  have  not  time  to 
mention  ?  Into  each  and  all  of  these  he  put  his  money  and  his 
brains.  A  few  months  ago,  when  my  old  friend,  General  Brisbin, 
a  ipnn  of  large  experience  and  broad  culture,  and  a  close  observer 


WILLIAM     C.    RALSTON.  247 

of  men,  was  on  this  coast  on  behalf  of  the  Kansas  sufferers,  he  was 
asked  this  question,  '  General,  what  has  most  impressed  you  in 
this,  our  young  commonwealth?'  Without  a  moment's  hesitation 
he  replied,  '  WILLIAM  C.  RALSTON.'  " 

In  addition  to  the  public  meetings  and  the  pulpit  recognition, 
many  other  organized  bodies  met  to  express  the  sense  of  their  loss 
and  the  appreciation  of  Mr.  Ralston's  services  to  them  personally, 
and  to  the  country  at  large.  Among  these  were  the  Managers  of 
the  Tenth  Industrial  Exhibition;  Templar  Lodge,  No.  17, 1.O.O.F.: 
the  Presbytery  of  San  Francisco;  the  San  Francisco  Female  Hos- 
pital Society;  the  Pacific  Dispensary  for  Women  and  Children; 
"San  Francisco  Board  of  Supervisors;"  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association;  the  San  Francisco  Stock  Exchange  and  Exchange 
Board ;  the  Pacific  Stock  Exchange ;  the  Produce  Exchange ;  the 
Most  Worthy  Grand  Lodge  of  Kesher  Shel  Barsel;  the  Photogra- 
pher's Association.  These  latter  were  particularly  indebted  to 
Mr.  Ralston  for  funds,  to  enable  them  to  entertain,  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  the  city,  a  visiting  body  of  the  National  Photographic 
Association.  Each  and  all  of  these  bodies  had  shared  his  boun- 
ties; and  the  still  imperfect  list  shows  the  wide  range  and  impar- 
tiality of  his  beneficence. 

But  it  was  not  alone  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco  that  the  news 
of  Mr.  Ralston's  death  fell  like  a  pall  upon  the  hearts  of  men.  On 
the  1 3th  of  September,  only  five  days  after  the  great  public  meet- 
ings in  San  Francisco,  the  "Associated  Pioneers  of  the  Territorial 
Days  in  California  "  met  at  the  Sturtevant  House  in  New  York,  in 
the  great  dining-room  of  the  hotel,  and  General  Ed.  F.  Beale  ad- 
dressed the  meeting.  He  said : 

"The  death  of  William  C.  Ralston  has  been  so  severe  a  shock, 
that  we  have  not  yet  recovered  our  composure ;  for  my  part,  I  can- 
not yet  realize  that  I  shall  see  his  kindly,  genial  face  no  more.  I 
do  believe  that  the  State  of  California  owes  to  his  wisdom,  fore- 
sight and  enterprise  an  advance  of  ten  years  at  least,  in  the  de- 
velopment of  every  useful  industry.  It  was  a  common  saying,  that 


2^8  WILLIAM     C.    RALSTON. 

the  '  Bank  of  California/  which  was  Ralston,  was  interested  in 
everything. 

"  For  money,  as  money,  he  had  no  regard  whatever.  His  view 
was  simply  what  good  he  could  do  with  it.  He  was  a  special 
Providence  to  all  in  need  of  charity.  He  gave  always  more  than 
money ;  he  gave  his  tender  and  gentle  sympathy.  People  here, 
who  only  know  of  the  enormous  wealth  and  power  he  controlled, 
cannot  conceive  of  such  a  man,  because  they  have  none  such  men 
among  them.  He  was  the  most  accessible  and  least  pretentious 
man  that  ever  lived,  ....  the  people  of  the  whole  State  loved  him, 
and  men  who  lived  on  the  far  borders  of  civilization,  delving  per- 
haps in  mines  of  Arizona,  and  who  could  look  to  no  one  else  for 
help,  liked  to  talk  to  him  familiarly,  and  of  the  time  when  they 
'  would  go  to  'Frisco,  and  see  Ralston  about  it.'  No  man  ever 
lived,  of  his  riches  and  command  of  wealth,  whose  life  was  so  un- 
selfishly devoted  to  the  interest  and  happiness  of  others,  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  State  in  which  he  lived.  His  house  at  Belmont, 
and  the  princely  style  in  which  he  lived,  was  not  so  much  his  own 
as  a  State  and  a  business  affair.  No  one  had  more  simple  tastes 
or  habits,  but  he  liked  to  entertain  in  a  sumptuous  manner  all  who 
visited  the  Pacific  coast ;  he  thought  it  benefited  California.  The 
Bank  of  California  allowed  him  $100,000  a  year  to  entertain  their 
guests." 

Many  other  speakers  followed  General  Beale.  Resolutions  of 
sympathy  were  sent  to  his  family,  and  probably  none  were  ever 
drawn  containing  more  genuine  feeling  than  these:  they  fully  en- 
dorsed those  passed  by  the  great  public  meetings  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  funeral  honors  paid  to  the  deceased,  on  the  day  of  in- 
terment, were  quite  extraordinary,  considering  that  Mr.  Ralston, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  not  in  any  official  position. 

Three  infantry  regiments,  cavalry,  a  full  park  of  artillery,  ac- 
companied the  remains,  the  National  Guard  acting  as  a  guard 
of  honor;  while  representatives  in  large  numbers  from  all  the 
different  manufactories  who  had  benefited  by  his  free  expendi- 


WILLIAM     C.    RALSTON.  249 

ture  of  money,  were  present ;  organized  societies  and  private  citi- 
zens swelled  the  procession  until  it  extended  full  three  miles  in 
length,  and  took  forty-two  minutes  to  pass  any  given  point.  There 
had  never  been  before,  and  there  has  never  been  since,  any  funeral 
cortege  at  all  comparable  to  it  in  California — considered  as  the 
spontaneous  outpouring  of  all  classes  of  people  from  the  million- 
aire to  the  penniless.  The  "  unco'  gude"  and  the  free  thinker;  the 
literary  and  the  ignorant ;  the  capitalist  and  the  man  who  worked 
for  day  wages,  for  once  united  in  accompanying  to  Lone  Mountain 
the  friend  and  brother  whom  all  seemed  equally  to  mourn.  • 

The  inquiry  here  naturally  arises  if  such  was  the  love  and  con- 
fidence reposed  in  this  man  by  the  whole  community,  why  did  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Bank  of  California  treat  his  mistake  with 
such  harsh  severity  ?  Why  not  give  him  the  opportunity  to  cor- 
rect it,  and  make  all  good  again,  as  he  affirmed  that  he  could  and 
would  do?  By  "mistake"  we  mean  the  loaning  of  the  bank's 
money  to  the  "  woollen  mills,"  which  impaired  the  capital  of  the 
bank,  and,  in  connection  with  Flood's  sudden  call,  necessitated  the 
suspension  of  the  bank.  For  answer,  it  may  be  said  on  behalf  of 
the  board  that  perhaps  they  believed  the  bank  could  not  be  resus- 
citated while  the  cause  of  their  failure  remained  at  its  head ;  it  may 
also  have  been  that  there  were  some  few  envious  souls  who  cov- 
eted his  position,  rejoiced  at  his  downfall,  or  were  "  tired  of  hearing 
Aristides  called  the  Just."  Mr.  Ralston  left  a  wife,  two  sons,  two 
daughters,  and  from  the  wreck  of  his  estate  little  available  prop- 
erty was  saved  for  their  use.  The  beautiful  house  at  Belmont  had 
to  be  abandoned,  and  his  sons  sought  clerkships  as  a  temporary 
means  of  support.  Instead  of  this  princely  mansion  the  widow 
was  assigned  the  humble  residence  lately  occupied  by  the  agent  of 
the  estate.  Friends  assisted  her  to  leave  for  a  while  the  scene  of 
her  loss,  and  the  ever  reminding  tokens  of  her  former  wealth. 
She  went  to  Paris  and  remained  over  a  year;  then  came  back  and 
commenced  suits  against  Mr.  William  Sharon,  who  had  been  made 
receiver  of  Mr.  Ralston's  estate,  for  an  accounting  of  the  same; 


2cO  WILLIAM     C.    RALSTON. 

and  against  a  Mr.  J.  D.  Fry  for  an  account  of  certain  property  put 
into  hn  hands  to  be  held  in  trust  for  the  family  by  Mr.  Ralston 
before  the  latter's  death.  This  property  was  in  Kern  county,  and 
consisted  largely  of  grazing  land  and  stock,  including  improved 
breeds  of  sheep.  The  estate  was  kept  in  litigation  for  several 
years.  Mr.  Ralston's  decease  took  place  in  August,  1875.  A 
final  hearing  of  the  case  took  place  in  October,  1882;  since 
which  ex-Senator  Sharon  has  compromised  with  Mrs.  Ralston  and 
her  children  by  the- payment  to  them  of  $160,000,  the  return  to 
•her  of  a  large  ranch  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  and  the 
payment  of  her  lawyer's  fees  by  the  transfer  to  him  of  a  lot  on 
California  street  in  San  Francisco,  and  the  payment  of  $25,000  in 
cash. 

Considering  the  amount  of  property  possessed  by  the  late  Wil- 
liam C.  Ralston,  it  is  generally  thought  that  the  executors  could 
very  well  afford  these  sums,  and  make  comfortable  for  life  the 
widow  and  children  of  California's  generous  friend. 


DAVID  JAYNE. 

AMONG  the  few  men  who  have  made  large  fortunes  in  this  coun- 
try in  the  patent  medicine  business,  ranks  Dr.  David  Jayne.  He 
was  born  in  Monroe  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  22d  of  July, 
1 799,  and  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  there.  Subsequently 
he  lived  at  Salem,  N.  J.  His  father  was  a  Baptist  clergyman,  and 
he,  early  in  life,  decided  upon  the  calling  of  a  physician  as  being 
but  one  remove  from  that  of  a  clergyman.  His  taste  for.  his  pro- 
fession was  marked,  but  he  was  not  satisfied  to  continue  his  career 
in  Salem,  where  he  had  several  years  of  satisfactory  practice.  In 
1836  he  determined  to  enter  upon  a  larger  field,  and  accordingly 
removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business, 
in  which,  in  consequence  of  want  of  capital,  he  met  with  many 
trials  and  difficulties.  His  integrity,  however,  was  unquestioned, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  his  credit,  notwithstanding  financial  entan- 
glement, continued  good,  and  his  creditors  exercised  the  utmost 
forbearance.  Ultimately  the  tide  of  fortune  turned,  and  in  many 
cases  he  was  subsequently  able  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  those 
who  had  thus  befriended  him. 

The  foundation  of  the  immense  fortune  which  he  ultimately  ac- 
quired was,  unquestionably,  persistent  and  lavish  advertising.  In 
the  judicious  use  of  this  medium  of  communication  with  the  pub- 
lic, few  have  equalled  him.  No  man  knew  better  than  he  how  to 
attract  and  hold  popular  attention.  One  of  the  most  successful 
means  to  that  end  adopted  by  him  was  the  erection  of  the  immense 
eight-story  granite  building  on  Chestnut  street  below  Third,  in 
Philadelphia.  This,  at  the  time  it  was  built,  was  the  largest  and 
highest  structure  for  business  purposes  in  the  United  States.  The 
walls  throughout  were  of  solid  granite,  and  all  the  appointments 

(250 


252  DAVID     JAYNE* 

of  the  edifice  were  of  the  most  complete  character.  From  what- 
ever point  Philadelphia  is  viewed  "  Jayne's  Building  "  appears  to 
dominate  the  situation.  Even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  few,  if  any,  buildings  in  the  Quaker  City  ex- 
ceed it  in  height  and  magnitude. 

Upon  a  similar  scale  of  magnificence  he  built  many  other  of  the 
most  substantial  and  beautiful  structures  upon  Chestnut  street,  the 
fashionable  thoroughfare  of  Philadelphia.  Notably  the  "  Common- 
wealth Building,"  at  Chestnut  and  Sixth  streets ;  the  three  large 
marble  front  structures,  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  Philadelphia 
Arcade,  and  the  large  granite  building  immediately  adjoining  it, 
known  as  "Jayne's  Hall." 

One  of  the  most  elaborate  and  beautiful  of  his  architectural  un- 
dertakings was  the  superb  marble  building,  at  the  corner  of  Chest- 
nut and  Nineteenth  streets,  designed  as  his  private  residence, 
though  never  occupied  by  him,  as,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  it  was 
unfinished.  In  his  will  full  provision  for  its  completion,  according 
to  plan,  was  made,  and  it  is  to-day  the  most  beautiful  and  costly 
residence  in  Philadelphia,  and  even  now  there  are  but  few  in 
America  which  surpass  it. 

Here  it  had  been  his  design  to  make  a  permanent  home  for 
himself  and  family.  Although  he  was  not  permitted  to  enjoy  that 
which  he  had  so  carefully  planned,  he  left  it  in  charge  with  his  ex- 
ecutors that  upon  the  completion  of  the  edifice,  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren should  be  permitted  to  occupy  it  as  a  home,  free  of  all  charge 
of  any  kind,  so  long  as  they  lived  or  chose  to  accept  its  hospitali- 
ties. He  made  his  wife  head  of  the  household  so  long  as  she 
lived  or  remained  unmarried,  with  careful  provision  as  to  the  suc- 
cession in  case  the  responsibility  should  devolve  upon  his  daugh- 
ters or  his  sons.  His  executors  were  directed  that  neither  of  the 
latter  should  be  permitted  to  take  the  place  of  head  of  the  family 
until  he  had  become  of  age,  nor  then  unless  his  habits  and  moral 
character  were  good.  He  directed  that  no  intoxicating  liquor  of 
any  kind  should  be  allowed  in  the  house,  except  for  medicinal  or 


DAVID     JAYNE.  253 

culinary  purposes.  The  surviving  members  of  his  family  he  ex- 
horted to  mutual  forbearance  and  mutual  love,  in  order  that  a 
happy  and  harmonious  home  might  be  maintained ;  and  his  execu- 
tors are  instructed,  that  should  this,  his  purpose  and  desire,  be 
frustrated  through  domestic  dissension,  that  the  house  shall  be 
closed,  and  the  building  and  all  its  contents  be  disposed  of  for  the 
benefit  of  the  estate. 

Mr.  Jayne  died  of  typhoid-pneumonia,  March  5th,  1866.  He 
left  a  wife,  two  sons  and  four  daughters.  His  bequests  to  the 
Spruce  Street  Baptist  Church,  to  which  he  belonged,  were  liberal, 
as  they  were  to  many  charitable  institutions.  Benevolence  was  a 
marked  trait  in  his  character.  Quiet  and  unostentatious  in  man- 
ner he,  notwithstanding  his  immense  wealth,  ever  avoided  per- 
sonal ostentation  or  display.  In  his  death  Philadelphia  lost  one 
of  the  most  active  and  public-spirited  of  her  citizens. 


JESSE    SELIGMAN. 

IT  is  but  recently  that  the  name  of  Jesse  Seligman  rang  through 
the  daily  press,  not  only  throughout  the  United  States,  but  the 
civilized  world,  not  for  what  he  had  done,  for  good  or  ill,  or  left 
undone ;  but  that  in  his  person  was  represented  the  insulted 
dignity  of  a  whole  race;  a  race  civilized,  organized  as  a  nation, 
producing  its  poets,  prophets  and  warriors  two  thousand  years 
before  the  ancestors  of  the  insulted  Boniface  had  emerged  from 
barbarism.  It  was  the  Seligman  family  whom  Judge  Hilton, 
proprietor  of  a  Saratoga  hotel,  the  Grand  Union,  excluded 
from  his  house  of  public  entertainment  because  he  was  of  He- 
brew race.  The  excitement  produced  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
Mr.  Seligman's  home,  was  intense,  and  extended  thence  over 
the  whole  country.  The  surprise  at  this  display  of  race  prejudice 
was  the  greater  since  Mr.  Seligman  was  a  man  of  great  wealth,  a 
member  of  the  famous  "  syndicate  "  for  disposing  of  the  United 
States  bonds,  a  particular  friend  of  ex-President  Grant,  a  welcome 
guest  in  the  best  society  everywhere,  Mr.  Seligman,  as  the  name 
indicates,  is  of  German  origin  (the  word  means  in  the  German, 
"  blessed  or  tiappy  man  "),  the  family,  so  far  as  we  have  traced  them, 
originating  in  the  Bavarian  village  of  Baiesdorf.  Like  many  of 
their  race,  they  were,  some  generations  back,  engaged  in  peddling 
anything  they  could  sell  on  which  a  profit  could  be  made,  and  it 
may  not  be  out  of  place  just  here  to  remind  our  readers,  that  the 
Hebrew  race  have  been  compelled  to  adapt  themselves  almost 
wholly  to  such  occupations  as  could  be  readily  transferred  from 
one  country  to  another,  for  two  reasons :  one  was,  their  constant 
liability  to  outbreaks  of  persecution :  and  the  other,  that  nearly 
(254) 


JESSE     SELIGMAN.  255 

every  government  in  Europe  has,  at  some  period  of  its  history, 
forbidden  them  to  acquire  real  estate  by  purchase. 

The  first  of  this  Seligman  family  to  come  to  the  United  States 
fwas  Joseph,  the  eldest  of  the  eight  brothers  Seligman,  who  finally 
settled  in  New  York:  he  came  in  1838.  His  parents  were  people 
of  some  means,  and  gave  their  sons  a  fair  education.  Joseph  was 
a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Erlangen  in  Franconia,  and  was  a 
man  of  scholarly  tastes.  He  brought  letters  of  introduction,  and 
being  a  man  of  some  originality  of  thought,  strove  to  free  himself 
from  the  ^raditions  of  his  race ;  and  instead  of  entering  immedi- 
ately into  trade,  sought  through  his  friend,  Judge  Asa  Packer,  of 
Philadelphia,  a  position  in  the  bank  presided  over  by  the  latter. 
He  was  appointed  cashier,  and  remained  in  this  situation  several 
years.  He  saved  money,  and  when  able  sent  over  to  the  old  home 
for  the  three  eldest  of  his  brothers.  Of  these  Jesse  was  one ;  he 
had  the  instincts  of  his  race  strong  within  him.  He  bought  a 
small  stock  of  goods  and  set  out  on  a  peddling  expedition  in  and 
around  New  York.  The  other  brothers  separated,  one  going  to 
the  south  and  the  other  west.  Jesse's  energy  was  inexhaustible; 
and  so  well  did  he  ply  his  trade,  that  at  the  end  of  three  years  he 
was  the  happy  possessor  of  $1,000  net  profit.  This  was  about 

1845- 

The  elder  brother,  Joseph,  had  also  discovered  that  there  was 
not  much  prospect  of  making  a  fortune  as  cashier  in  a  bank ; 
there  was  no  opportunity  of  promotion.  He  therefore  resigned 
and  fell  back  upon  trade.  A  good  opportunity  offering  at  Greens- 
burg,  Alabama,  he  removed  to  that  place  and  opened  a  clothing 
store.  Everything  prospered  with  him  ;  but  thinking  he  could  do 
still  better  in  New  York,  he  returned  thither  and  shortly  after  sent 
for  his  remaining  four  brothers  to  join  him  in  this  country.  He 
first  opened  a  clothing  store  in  Church  street,  where  some  of  his 
brothers  were  employed ;  but  Jesse  did  so  well  with  his  peddling 
that  he  was  loth  to  leave  it.  However,  in  the  excitement  of  the 
"California  fever,"  in  1848-9,  he  took  the  contagion,  and  in  the 


2^6  JESSE    SELIGMAN. 

latter  year  went  to  San  Francisco — but  not  to  dig  in  the  mines; 
his  mine  was  in  a  store  which  he  rented,  at  that  time  the  only  brick 
building  in  the  place.  This  showed  a  wise  provision  on  the  part 
of  a  young  man  of  twenty-three,  and  his  caution  met  with  its  re- 
ward. When  the  wooden  city  of  the  first  settlers  was  swept  away 
by  fire,  Jesse's  store,  with  its  large  stock  of  goods,  withstood  the 
flames  and  was  saved.  The  price  of  his  stock  went  up  amazingly ; 
very  little  clothing  of  any  kind  could  be  procured  anywhere  in  the 
settlement  except  at  Jesse  Seligman's  store ;  everything  then  sold 
at  fabulous  prices  in  San  Francisco,  and  at  the  end  of  si^|  or  seven 
years  the  young  Hebrew  returned  to  New  York  and  to  his  brother 
Joseph  with  a  nice  little  fortune  ready  to  invest  in  the  same  or 
some  other  business  in  the  metropolis.  In  1857  the  three  brothers, 
Joseph,  Jesse,  and  James,  formed  a  partnership  for  the  importation 
of  cloths  and  the  wholesale  clothing  business ;  and  in  process  of 
time  another  brother  joined  his  fortunes  with  theirs.  This  firm 
went  on,  quietly  progressing  and  enlarging  their  operations,  until 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  a  new  source  of  profit  was  opened 
to  them.  This  firm  were  experts  in  everything  relating  to  woollen 
goods ;  they  had  capital  at  command,  and  had  no  difficulty  in  pro- 
curing contracts  to  furnish  clothing  for  the  army.  The  contract 
proved  enormously  profitable,  so  much  so  that  on  the  conclusion 
of  peace  they  retired  from  trade,  and  opened  a  banking  house  at 
No.  21  Broad  street,  near  Wall. 

It  says  much  for  the  fraternal  feeling  existing  between  these 
brothers,  that  none  were  excluded  from  the  good  fortune  attained 
by  the  contracting  firm.  The  whole  eight  brothers  were  made 
partners  in  the  banking  business :  they  had  all  done  more  or  less 
well  for  themselves,  but  not  all  had  the  opportunities  offered  by 
government  contracts.  The  names  of  the  Seligman  brothers  thus 
united  in  the  banking  business  were  Joseph,  Jesse,  William,  Abra- 
ham, Leopold,  Isaac,  James,  and  Henry;  and  this  octuple  band 
continued  unbroken  until  1881,  when  Joseph,  the  eldest  and  leader, 
to  whom  they  were  all  accustomed  to  look  up,  died. 


JESSE     SELIGMAN.  257 

Joseph  Seligman  was  no  ordinary  person.  To  those  who  met' 
him  in  business  he  might  have  seemed  wholly  absorbed  in  accumu- 
lating his  gains.  Some  who  knew  him  in  social  life  were  not  pleased 
with  his  manners  ;  but  he  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  brains,  and  one 
who  had  found  time,  aside  from  all  his  money-getting,  for  reading 
and  reflection.  He  retained  many  of  the  instinctive  traits  of  his1 
lineage,  and  he  had  thoroughly  emancipated  himself  from  its 
burdensome  superstitions.  When  we  say  that  he  was  the  friend 
and  principal  financial  support  of  Prof.  Felix  Adier,  it  is  sufficient 
proof  that  he  had  broken  the  bonds  of  old  tradition,  and  was  try- 
ing to  put  something  better  in  its  place,  to  substitute  a  good  life 
for  vain  ceremonies — "  deeds  instead  of  creeds."  The  advanced 
thinkers,  who  are  wont  to  meet  to  hear  the  eloquent  and  persua- 
sive Hebrew  preacher  in  dickering  Hall,  on  the  Christian  Sab- 
bath, lost  one  of  their  most  devoted  and  generous  friends,  when 
Joseph  Seligman  dieci. 

JESSE  SELIGMAN  now  became  the  head  of  the  banking  house,  and 
under  him  its  affiliations  have  been  widely  extended.  When  Gen- 
eral Grant  was  President  he  became  the  latter's  banker,  and  a 
personal,  friendship  sprang  up  between  them  ;  and  this  connection 
proved  of  great  benefit  to  the  Hebrew  bankers,  particularly  the 
opportunity  which  was  offered  for  "  placing  "  the  government  loans. 
The  house  had  its  agencies  in  London,  Paris,  Frankfort,  Amster- 
dam, as  well  as  in  San  Francisco,  New  Orleans,  Cuba,  Brazil,  etc. 
One  of  the  important  undertakings  of  the  firm  is  connected  with 
the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

Jesse  Seligman  stands  at  the  head  of  the  syndicate  for  placing 
the  "  Lessep  shares  "  in  the  United  States.  He  is  also  interested 
in  those  southern  railroads,  whose  ultimate  terminus  is  Mexican 
territory,  and  of  the  St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco  railroad,  and 
many  other  projects  of  a  like  nature.  We  have  never  heard  of 
any  serious  losses  suffered  by  Jesse  Seligman.  Their  business  is 
kept  so  well  in  hand  that  few  outsiders  can  even  venture  to  esti- 
mate the  assets  of  the  firm.  They  are  believed  to  be  very 
17 


2^8  JESSE     SELIGMAN. 

wealthy ;  and  as  Mr.  Jesse  Seligman  is  still  on  the  sunny  side  of 
sixty,  he  may  have  many  years  yet  in  which  to  increase  his  for- 
tune. He  is  in  good  health,  has  a  bright  happy  family  of  three 
sons  and  three  daughters,  and  lives  in  a  handsome  house  on  Fifth 
Avenue.  He  ranks  among  the  progressive  Jews  who  worship  in 
the  temple  Emanuel :  though  not  so  radical  in  his  ideas  as  was 
his  brother  Joseph.  All  the  brothers  have  large  families,  so  that 
the  Seligmans  almost  form  a  little  community  among  themselves. 
Jesse  is  very  liberal  in  the  support  of  the  Hebrew  charitable  asso- 
ciations, and  is  President  of  the  Hebrew  Orphan  Asylum.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Union  Club  of  New  York.  Among  the 
younger  branches  of  the  family  are  already  several  who  show  a 
decided  talent  for  financiering,  so  that  the  banking  house  of  Selig- 
man is  likely  to  become  a  permanent  feature  of  the  monetary  cir- 
cles in  New  York.  Nor  would  it  be  surprising  if  out  of  their 
numerous  offspring  should  arise  successors  who  may  become  th^ 
Rothschilds  of  the  world. 


CHAS    STORRS. 


CHARLES   STORRS. 

IT  is  sometimes  said  that  the  old  New  England  race  is  dying 
out,  and  that  the  heroic  spirit  which  made  the  Pilgrim  Fathers 
famous  has  declined  steadily  in  the  successive  generations  of  their 
descendants.  Many  considerations  offset  and  invalidate  this  con- 
clusion. It  would  be  easy  to  show,  by  what  New  Englanders  have 
done1  in  recent  times  and  are  doing  to-day  in  the  multifarious 
activities  of  nineteenth  century  life,  that  the  old  conquering  and 
patient  spirit  is  as  quick  and  strong  as  ever  when  the  occasion 
arises  to  call  it  into  action.  In  every  quarter  of  the  globe  and  in 
every  country,  the  New  Englander  is  found.  As  merchant  and 
banker,  as  explorer  and  navigator,  as  inventor  and  discoverer,  as 
poet  and  historian,  as  philosopher  and  social  scientist,  the  Yankee 
is  to  the  front.  Nations  and  princes  vie  with  each  other  in  doing 
him  honor  as  a  benefactor  of  his  race.  The  Queen  of  England 
offers  him  titles  and  ribbons  in  the  person  of  George  Peabody, 
while  every  rank  and  calling  in  the  British  Empire  unite  to  place 
a  bust  of  the  Yankee  poet,  Longfellow,  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
In  the  British  colonies  Yankee  enterprise  and  invention  have  given 
an  impetus  to  commerce  and  agriculture.  The  experience  of  the 
Yankee  in  gaining  independence,  and  his  success  in  the  experiment 
of  local  self-government,  have  set  an  example  and  given  direction 
to  other  races,  colonies  and  individual  enterprises.  Hence  the 
cry  of  alarm  in  England  that  the  masses  are  becoming  American- 
ized and  breaking  loose  from  traditional  leading-strings.  What 
has  worked  this  change  for  the  better  but  the  ubiquitous  Yankee, 
who  greets  one  in  the  cafe  of  Paris,  the  "  Rotten  Row  "  of  London 
fashion,  breakfasts  at  the  North  Pole  and  dines  on  the  Equator. 

Charles  Storrs,  the  retired  New  York  merchant,  and  one  of  the 

(259) 


26o  CHARLES   STORKS. 

foremost  citizens  of  Brooklyn,  was  a  conspicuous  instance  of  this 
diffusion  of  New  England  "  grit."  A  sketch  of  his  life  and  charac- 
ter is  the  more  interesting  because  he  was  really  a  type  of  the  nobility 
of  New  England,  whose  decorations  and  estates  have  been  won 
by  that  hard  toil  which  Hesiod,  the  oldest  of  the  poets,  says  is  the 
inexorable  and  undeviating  condition  of  the  bestowal  of  Heaven's 
best  gifts  on  man.  Labor,  in  his  belief,  was  the  only  passport  to  the 
port  of  rest  and  comfort.  Plato  would  allow  no  one  who  was  not 
a  geometrician  to  enter  his  academy,  and  Hesiod  represents  the 
immortal  gods  as  opening  the  gates  of  happiness  only  to  those 
who  have  climbed  the  hill,  overcome  difficulties,  subdued  laziness, 
been  patient  under  reverses,  chosen  present  hardship  with  a  sin- 
gle eye  to  duty,  and  because  in  the  line  of  duty  they  looked  onward 
to  the  goal  of  self-approval,  a  conscience  able  to  look  itself  squarely 
in  the  face,  and  a  field  of  quiet  helpfulness  to  their  fellow-men.  If, 
as  the  Wise  King  said,  "He  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit  is  greater 
than  he  who  taketh  a  city,"  much  more  is  he  who  from  the  hard 
beginnings  of  toil  and  privation  has  steadily  toiled  on  until  plenty 
and  social  power  for  good  have  crowned  his  labors. 

The  Storrs  pedigree  is  an  ancient  one.  Although  "good  wine 
needs  no  bush,"  it  is  pleasant  to  trace  one's  lineage;  and  Mr. 
Storrs  himself  took  much  pains  in  counting  the  leaves  and 
branches  of  his  family  tree.  He  compiled  and  arranged  a 
Genealogical  Record  of  the  Storrs  Family  in  the  United  States, 
which  was  lithographed  and  published  by  D.  T.  Ames,  of  205 
Broadway,  New  York.  "Stor"  is  an  old  Norse  word,  meaning 
great,  strong,  in  the  sense  of  power,  authority ;  and  Storrs,  which 
is  one  English  form,  may  fairly  be  interpreted  as  "  strong  man." 
The  Herald's  College  of  London  would  make  this  family  descend- 
ants of  Philip  du  Storrs,  a  companion  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
when  he  entered  England  in  1066.  A  promontory  on  Lake  Win- 
dermere,  and  a  fine  mansion  in  the  vicinity,  still  bear  the  name 
of  Storrs  in  honor  of  an  ancient  family  once  settled  there,  but 
long  extinct  in  the  male  line.  Among  present  members  of  the 


CHARLES     STORKS.  26 1 

family  in  England  are  many  clergymen  of  the  Established  Church, 
and  a  Quaker  branch  of  high  respectability,  allied  with  the  Frys, 
the  Stephensons,  and  other  prominent  Friends.  In  the  North 
Cross  of  Westminster  Abbey  is  buried  Admiral  John  Stor  (the 
Yorkshire  spelling),  who  died  in  1783. 

All  the  American  branches  trace  their  pedigree  to  Samuel 
Storrs,  who  emigrated  to  America  in  1663,  from  Sutton  cum  Lounde, 
Nottinghamshire,  England.  He  came  to  Barnstable,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  was  twice  married,  and  then  removed  to  Mansfield, 
Connecticut,  where  he  died  on  the  3Oth  of  April,  1719. 

Among  his  well-known  descendants  are  the  late  Hon.  Henry  R. 
Storrs,  the  eminent  orator  and  member  of  Congress  from  the 
State  of  New  York;  his  brother,  the  late  William  L.  Storrs,  Chief- 
Justice  of  Connecticut;  and  Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  D.  D.,  of  Brooklyn, 
New  York. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  sixth  in  descent  from  this  Samuel 
Storrs,  being  the  son  of  Royal,  who  was  the  son  of  Royal,  who  was 
the  son  of  Joseph,  who  was  the  son  of  Samuel,  who  was  the  eldest 
son  of  Samuel  from  Nottinghamshire.  They  were  all  farmers 
and  men  of  strong  character  and  fine  personal  appearance.  His 
father,  Royal  Storrs,  Jr.,  married  Eunice  Freeman,  daughter  of 
Frederick  Freeman,  Esq.,  of  Mansfield,  Conn.,  and  granddaughter 
of  Deacon  Edmund  Freeman,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  the  class 
of  1733,  and  the  first  permanent  resident  of  that  name  in  the  town 
of  Mansfield.  Royal  Storrs  was  a  man  of  large  brain,  sound  judg- 
ment, strict  integrity,  liberal  views,  and  unusual  conscientiousness; 
and  his  wife  possessed  fine  social  qualities,  and  was  attractive  both 
in  person  and  mind.  Their  son  naturally  in  many  traits  resem- 
bled them. 

For  most  country  families  in  New  England,  sixty  years  ago, 
great  economy  was  necessary  to  "  make  ends  meet."  Towns  and 
neighborhoods  lived  within  themselves  as  to  their  daily  needs. 
There  were  no  books  and  papers,  as  now,  to  teach  people  physi- 
ology, and  the  preservation  of  health  by  proper  attention  to  food 


2g2  CHARLES     STORRS. 

and  clothing.  To  be  honest  and  upright,  to  make  your  way,  and 
to  pay  strict  regard  to  the  duties  of  religion,  comprised  the  sum- 
total  of  average  parental  instruction.  Pork  and  beef  were  "salted 
down  "  in  the  fall,  and  were  the  principal  meats.  Once  a  year  the 
tailoress  and  the  shoemaker  went  from  house  to  house  fashioning 
clothes  and  shoes  for  the  inmates,  and  lucky  were  they  who  got 
their  new  things  before  Thanksgiving,  the  great  and  almost  only 
holiday.  Underclothing  was  little  worn,  and  overcoats  were  by  no 
means  universal. 

Charles  Storrs  was  born  in  this  town  of  Mansfield,  January 
24th,  1822.  He  may  not  have  fared  as  badly  as  many  other  New 
England  boys  who  have  risen  to  high  positions ;  but  he  has  often 
been  heard  to  regret  the  privations  of  his  youth.  Until  twelve 
years  of  age  he  was  not  strong. 

The  austerity  of  manners  which  then  prevailed  in  New  England, 
even  among  those  nearest  of  kin,  prevented  discussion  or  instruc- 
tion on  any  but  formal  subjects.  Life  must  have  been  wanting  in 
many  of  the  influences  that  would  have  been  most  grateful  to 
his  generous,  frank  disposition,  and  his  sensitive  temperament. 
Even  such  formality,  coldness  and  repression,  however,  did  not 
"  freeze  the  genial  current  of  his  soul." 

The  district  school  for  about  three  months  in  winter  gave  him 
his  early  education,  and  he  must  have  studied  earnestly  to  be  able 
in  his  eighteenth  year  to  become  as  he  did  a  school-teacher  himself. 

Six  months  before  he  attained  his  majority,  Mr.  Storrs  hired  a 
substitute  to  take  his  place  on  his  father's  farm,  and  began  a  career 
for  himself,  without  a  dollar  of  capital,  but  with  those  sterling 
qualities  that  have  raised  him  to  independence  and  honor.  He 
began  selling  American-made  sewing  silk  to  the  merchants  of  New 
England,  Mansfield  being  the  first,  and  at  that  time  one  of  the  chief 
places  of  its  manufacture.  He  followed  this  business  successfully 
for  three  years. 

When  twenty-two  and  a  half  years  of  age  he  married,  on  the  4th 
of  July,  1844,  Maryett  M.  Cook,  of  Coventry,  Connecticut,  and  in 


CHARLES     STORRS.  263 

the  following  year  he  removed  to  Hartford,  where  his  only  chilu 
Sarah  was  born  on  the  I2th  of  December,  1845.  Here  he  engaged 
his  services  to  a  manufacturing  and  commission  firm  as  agent 
for  the  sale  of  their  goods.  This  occupation  brought  him  con- 
stantly to  New  York,  and  in  May,  1850,  he  chose  Brooklyn  as  his 
permanent  residence.  In  July,  1853,  he  was  taken  into  copart- 
nership with  his  employers,  who  now  carried  on  a  commission 
business  in  New  York  as  well  as  a  manufactory  in  Connecticut. 
When  the  financial  panic  of  1854  occurred,  so  many  of  the  parties 
who  had  dealings  with  them  on  credit  failed  that  in  September  they 
also  stopped  payment.  Mr.  Storrs  now  assumed  the  liabilities 
of  his  late  partners,  which  were  over  $300,000,  and  which  were 
honorably  paid  in  full. 

On  the  ist  of  December,  1854,  he  commenced  business  as  a 
commission  merchant  on  his  own  account,  associating  with  him  in 
the  new  firm  of  Storrs  Brothers,  his  two  brothers,  Augustus  and 
Royal  O.  Storrs.  The  latter,  owing  to  other  business,  never  took 
an  active  share  in  the  management,  and  in  the  course  of  a  year  or 
two  withdrew.  For  twenty-five  years,  until  1879,  Mr.  Charles 
Storrs  remained  head  of  the  firm,  and  by  his  business  capacity, 
his  carefulness  in  avoiding  doubtful  liabilities,  and  his  high  per- 
sonal reputation  for  integrity  and  financial  prudence,  amassed  a 
competency,  upon  which  he  retired  into  private  citizenship  and 
the  gratification  of  those  intellectual  and  artistic  tastes  and  that 
beneficence  which  are  his  characteristics.  He  might  have  gone  on 
to  amass  a  great  fortune  had  he  so  desired,  but  he  has 'always 
cared  more  for  the  use  he  could  make  of  money  than  for  money 
itself;  and  his  unremitting  attention  to  business  for  so  many  years 
had  told  very  perceptibly  upon  his  health.  While  in  business  he 
lent  an  example  to  business  men  of  limiting  his  transactions 
to  their  legitimate  sphere,  never  jeopardizing  a  moderate  certainty 
for  a  splendid  possibility,  and  so  restraining  his  ambition  as  to 
know  how  to  stop  when  he  had  done  enough. 

It  is  now  time  to  turn   to  his  delightful  home,  his  generous 


264  CHARLES     STORKS. 

hospitality,  his  unselfish  care  for  others,  his  public  spirit,  his  senti- 
ments and  principles,  and  his  literary  and  artistic  tastes. 

In  the  spring  of  1866  Mr.  Storrs  decided  to  spend  a  holiday  in 
foreign  travel,  and  here  his  social  and  generous  spirit  showed  itself, 
by  inviting  others — a  clergyman,  the  Rev.  R.  C.  Hand,  and  his  wife, 
a  physician,  Dr.  George  K.  Smith,  and  his  much  valued  friend  and 
connection  by  marriage,  Miss  Edna  Dean  Proctor,  the  well-known 
author  of  many  beautiful  poems  and  works  of  travel — to  join 
himself  and  Mrs'.  Storrs  and  their  daughter  in  their  foreign  explora- 
tions. They  sailed  from  Boston  in  May,  visiting  every  country  of 
Europe  except  Portugal,  and  afterwards  Egypt,  Palestine,  Syria, 
and  other  places  in  the  Levant.  The  clergyman  and  physician  left 
them  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  to  return  to  Brooklyn,  but  the 
Storrs  family  and  Miss  Proctor  did  not  return  till  November,  1867. 

The  long  holiday,  amid  new  scenes  and  grand  historical  associa- 
tions, was  a  continued  delight  and  intellectual  treat  to  Mr.  Storrs, 
whose  memory  was  freighted  with  reminiscences  and  information 
connected  with  it.  Miss  Proctor  has  given  part  of  it  an  enduring 
and  beautiful  form  in  her  fascinating  and  instructive  book,  "A 
Russian  Journey." 

Mr.  Storrs,  like  most  men  of  observant  minds  and  intellectual 
curiosity,  was  very  fond  of  travel.  Upon  the  marriage  of  his 
daughter,  in  May,  1869,  to  Mr.  David  Choate  Proctor,*  of  Peoria, 
Illinois,  a  rare  man,  beloved  by  all,  he  visited  California  and 
Colorado  with  his  wife  and  the  bridal  party  ;  and  in  1871,  upon  the 
invitation  of  Horace  Greeley,  he  accompanied  him  to  Texas.  In  all 
these  seasons  of  travel,  foreign  and  domestic,  nothing  was  omitted 
from  his  sight-seeing  which  possessed  historic  or  natural  grandeur. 

Like  many  other  travelled  Americans,  Mr.  Storrs  learned 
by  experience  that,  after  all,  "  there's  no  place  like  home."  He 
had  furnished  his  own  home  with  every  accessory  to  material  com- 
fort and  intellectual  satisfaction.  His  collection  of  pictures  was  a 
fine  one.  His  library  attained  a  literary  celebrity  from  the  many 

*Die<l,  December  17,  1880. 


CHARLES    STORKS.  265 

tributes  which  distinguished  scholars  and  authors  paid  it,  and  from 
the  fact  that  it  was  a  favorite  resort  of  his  very  dear  friend,  Horace 
Greeley,  who  delighted  to  enshrine  himself  amid  its  treasures 
when  he  wished  to  be  alone. 

Mr.  Storrs,  considering  his  engrossing  and  active  business  life, 
was  a  wide  reader,  and  he  took  the  keenest  interest  in  the  great 
subjects  and  questions  of  the  day,  whether  social,  political,  relig- 
ious, historical  or  scientific. 

In  connection  with  Horace  Greeley,  it  should  have  been  men- 
tioned that  Mr.  Storrs  was  one  of  his  executors,  and  aided  in 
arranging  his  affairs,  which  were  complicated,  with  a  personal  care 
dictated  solely  by  the  respect  and  friendship  he  had  borne  him. 
As  the  Tribune  remarked  at  the  time :  "In  spite  of  the  embarrass- 
ments which  attended  his  undertaking  of  this  task,  he  performed 
the  difficult  work  with  skill,  tact  and  success,  and  entirely  without 
compensation." 

While  Mr.  Storrs  took  pains  to  beautify  and  enrich  his  home, 
he  did  not  forget,  amid  books,  pictures  and  articles  of  vertu,  to 
provide  that  furniture  which  Cicero  declared  to  be  the  noblest  in 
life, — friendship.  He  might  apply  to  himself  the  experience  of 
another  who  has  written  of  the 

"  Blessings  of  friends  that  to  my  door, 
Unasked,  unsought,  have  come." 

The  frankness  and  sociability  of  his  character,  his  perfect  can- 
dor and  straightforwardness,  attracted  others  to  him  whose  regard 
he  cherished,  but  did  not  seek.  Among  strangers  in  a  room, 
one  who  did  not  know  him  picked  him  out  at  once  by  his  looks 
and  manners  as  what  Dr.  Johnson  would  have  called  "a  clubable 
man."  Sitting  beside  him  at  a  New  England  dinner,  or  any  sim- 
ilar occasion,  a  stranger  felt  after  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  con- 
versation, as  if  he  had  known  him  all  his  life.  The  secret  of  this 
attraction  was  homely  humanity  in  opposition  to  formality  and  self- 
environment.  A  conceited  man  repels  one  not  so  much  from  any 


266  CHARLES   STORRS. 

dislike  one  feels  for  him,  but  because  he  has  no  point  d'appui. 
no  part  which  is  not  encased  in  egotism,  so  that  one  tries  in  vain 
to  get  at  him.  The  genial,  spontaneous,  unselfish  nature,  on  the 
contrary,  reaches  out  the  hand  for  others  to  shake,  and  an  instinct 
of  sympathy  brings  it  friends. 

Such  a  nature  was  that  of  Charles  Storrs.  He  delighted  in  the 
feeling  which  the  Latin  dramatist  expressed  when  he  said :  "  I  am  a 
man,  and  nothing  that  touches  humanity  is  indifferent  to  me." 
Hence,  around  his  social  board  were  gathered  genial  spirits  like 
himself — men  and  women,  who  worked  hard,  and  of  whom  the 
world,  perhaps,  knew  little,  but  whose  natures  had  been  refined 
by  suffering  as  "  gold  purified  in  the  fire.''  Few  homes  in  the 
United  States  have  been  illumined  with  warmer  friendships  or 
better  company  than  his  house  in  Brooklyn,  23  Monroe  Place. 
Literature,  art  and  science  were  discussed  within  it  by  the 
highest  minds,  and  better  still,  great  hearts  communed  with  each 
other  how  to  relieve  distress,  feed  the  hungry,  and  rekindle  the 
hopes  of  a  renovated  life  in  those  that  have  been  ready  to  per- 
ish in  the  dark  and  cold  of  tribulation.  In  the  spirit  of  the  Ideal 
Brother,  the  Christ  Man,  whose  heart  embraced  the  world,  these 
little  kindnesses  and  unpretending  courtesies  were  shown. 
They  were  doubtless  remembered  when  the  giver  himself  had 
need  of  comfort,  and  felt  beneath  him  in  Death's  misty  valley 
the  Brother's  hand,  "  the  Everlasting  Arms."  According  to  his 
opportunities  and  the  bigness  of  his  heart,  Charles  Storrs  sought 
to  do  good  to  all  men  and  to  make  his  circle  of  fellow-crea- 
tures happier  and  better.  His  was  one  of  those  faces  whose 
kindly  light,  shining  in  dark  soft  eyes,  gave  assurance  in  manhood 
of  what  it  must  have  been  in  youth.  Great  energy  and  love  of  fun 
were  both  clearly  written  in  his  countenance  at  sixty  years  of  age. 
Much  enjoyment  of  life,  perhaps  not  so  exuberant  as  formerly,  but 
still  warming  the  whole  nature  at  the  social  fireside,  was  also  legible. 
It  was  a  face  also  capable  of  reflecting  sadness  and  disappointment, 
but  never  misanthropy  or  malice.  There  was  no  undertow  in  the 


CHARLES    STORKS.  267 

tide  of  his  sincerity.  He  may  not  have  been  able  to  guide  us  to 
the  port  of  safety  we  were  seeking,  but  we  felt  safe  in  trusting  our 
raft  of  difficulty  to  the  sea  of  his  confidence  and  sympathy.  His 
was  a  nature  that  attracted  others,  invited  their  trust  and  never 
belied  the  impression  of  downright  honesty  and  kindness  which  it 
first  created.  Active  in  his  ways,  full  of  interest  in  the  people  and 
events  around  him,  the  dark  complexion,  the  hair  and  whiskers 
tinged  with  gray,  the  kindly  humor  which  was  the  most  habitual 
expression  on  the  face,  and  above  all  the  humane  trustfulness  and 
good-fellowship  of  the  eyes/enabled  one  to  create  from  imagina- 
tion a  complete  picture  of  what  he  must  have  been  as  a  boy,  care- 
less of  appearance,  unconscious  alike  of  his  own  defects  and  merits 
in  style,  or  rather  unconscious  of  the  existence  of  style  or  manner 
in  externals,  always  eager  for  fresh  adventure,  ready  to  do  a  good 
turn  for  "any  other  fellow,"  going  straight  to  the  heart  and  kernel 
of  things,  resolute  to  go  through  with  anything  he  once  undertook, 
and  knowing  no  such  word  as  fail. 

In  his  political  and  religious  opinions,  Mr.  Storrs  was  both  con- 
servative and  progressive.  He  not  only  believed  that,  "  somehow, 
good  will  be  the  final  end  of  ill,"  but  did  not  believe  in  sweeping 
old  ideas  and  institutions  away  because  they  were  not  perfect.  He 
was  a  firm  friend  of  the  ever-spreading  movement  for  the  civil, 
legal  and  intellectual  amelioration  of  the  lot  of  woman  throughout 
the  world.  For  the  same  work  as  man,  he  would  have  her  paid 
the  same,  and  he  believed  her  capable  of  the  same  work  in  a 
vast  number  of  instances. 

In  religious  opinions,  Mr.  Storrs  was  wisely  liberal,  and  so  con- 
vinced that  mere  assent  to  dogmas,  which  reason  rejects  and  which 
are  repugnant  to  the  best  feelings  of  the  heart,  is  valueless,  if  not 
injurious,  to  individual  and  collective  manhood,  that  he  for 
years  assisted  men  and  movements  with  whom  or  which  he  was  not 
in  every  point  agreed,  whenever  he  saw  them  persecuted  by 
bigotry  and  slandered  by  falsehood.  There  are  struggling  churches 
and  enterprises  of  religious  and  philosophical  thought  in  America 


268  CHARLES   STORKS. 

and  England  which  were  for  years  assisted  by  his  unsolicited  gener- 
osity. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  the  Cooper  Institute  in  the  autumn  of 
1873,  by  the  religious  rationalists,  of  whom  the  Rev.  Octavius  B. 
Frothingham  was  then  the  leading  spirit,  Mr.  Storrs  was  invited 
to  preside,  and  accepted  the  invitation  on  the  Broad  Church  prin- 
ciple, which  he  thus  stated:  "It  is,  perhaps,  but  right  that  I  should 
state  that  I  belong  to  an  orthodox  church,  and  have  no  intention 
of  leaving  it.  Early  associations  and  circumstances  may  have 
thrown  us  into  different  churches  ;  being  there,  let  us  not  be  restive 
or  too  hasty  to  change.  As  we  are  impressed  and  permitted 
to  see  the  light,  we  may  be  enabled  to  enlighten  others.  Churches 
have  changed  or  modified  their  creeds  and  views  in  times  past, 
and  doubtless  will  again.  I  see  no  valid  reason  why  I  should  not 
be  open  to  conviction,  and  hear  all  truth  that  removes  ignorance 
and  superstition,  stimulates  charity  and  good  works,  and  tends  to 
a  better  life,  from  whatever  source  it  may  come."  His  great  dogma 
was  that  God  is  good  and  just  and  kind,  and  would  have  His  creat- 
ures so.  As  for  creeds  and  churches,  he  holds  with  Tennyson: 

"  Our  little  systems  have  their  day; 

They  have  their  day  and  cease  to  be ; 

They  are  but  broken  lights  of  Thee, 

And  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  more  than  they." 

If  he  had  a  creed  it  was  this :  A  pure  life  and  good  works. 

At  the  same  time  no  man  took  a  greater  interest  in  the  good 
work  that  was  done  by  churches  than  he  did.  The  Congregational 
Church  in  his  native  town  was  largely  provided  for  by  him.  He 
also  gave  to  the  town  of  his  birth  a  large  cemetery,  and  had 
added  a  fund  under  trustees  for  keeping  it  constantly  in  good 
order.  He  erected  in  this  cemetery  two  granite  monuments,  for 
his  father's  family  and  his  own;  as  well  as  several  others  else- 
where in  the  town  to  the  memory  of  his  early  ancestors,  especially 
one  to  Samuel  Storrs,  the  before-mentioned  founder  of  the  Amer- 
ican branch  of  the  family. 


CHARLES    STORRS.  269 

The  private  benevolences  of  Mr.  Storrs  did  not  blunt  the 
keen  edge  of  his  public  spirit.  Coney  Island  was  largely 
indebted  to  his  money  and  foresight  for  becoming,  par  excellence, 
the  City  of  the  Sea  in  summer  for  the  residents  of  Brooklyn  and 
New  York. 

In  October,  1877,  the  New  York  World  stated  that  the  Khedive 
of  Egypt  would  give  an  obelisk  to  this  country,  if  properly  applied 
for.  Mr.  Storrs  immediately  wrote  to  the  New  York  Tribune 
asking  it  to  second  the  World's  efforts  to  obtain  the  obelisk,  and 
offering  to  bear  one-fiftieth  part  of  the  expense  of  its  removal  and 
proper  erection  in  New  York.  The  Tribune  commended  his  prop- 
osition, as  did  other  New  York  papers.  This,  I  believe,  was  the 
first  public  offer  made  for  obtaining  the  obelisk  which  now  adorns 
Central  Park. 

Mr.  Storrs,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother,  Augustus  Storrs, 
some  years  ago  presented  to  the  State  of  Connecticut  the  land 
and  buildings  and  an  endowment  fund  to  establish  and  maintain 
the  Storrs  Agricultural  School  at  Mansfield,  which  is  to-day  a 
monument  to  their  generosity.  Having  experienced  the  intellect- 
ual privations  that  are  too  commonly  incident  to  farm-life,  the 
younger  brother,  Charles,  determined  that  when  he  was  ready  to 
help  his  fellow-men  he  would  make  it  his  duty  to  establish  an  Agri- 
cultural School  for  those  who  should  desire  and  purpose  to  fit 
themselves  for  agricultural  pursuits.  And  one  of  the  provisions  of 
the  Storrs  School  is,  that  in  addition  to  the  teaching  and  training 
pupils  to  the  practice  and  business  of  farming  they  shall  also  be 
taught  the  elements  of  botany,  chemistry,  geology  and  other 
sciences  as  applied  to  agriculture,  thus  ennobling  and  elevating  the 
latter  calling,  and  lifting  up  those  who  are  to  pursue  it.  The  school 
was  designed  to  help  worthy  lads,  not  only  to  be  farmers  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  word,  but  to  be  instructed  to  that  point  where 
they  could  enjoy  the  branches  of  knowledge  allied  to  agriculture, 
and  be  well-informed  men  and  useful  citizens. 

With  the  energy  of  a  typical  New  Englander,  Mr.  Storrs    took 


270  CHARLES     STORKS. 

an  eager  interest  in  the  diffusion  and  practical  improvement  of 
education,  and  would  have  every  farmer  skilled  in  all  matters 
connected  with  agriculture  and  stock.  Botany,  chemistry,  geology 
and  kindred  sciences  he  regards  as  the  beautifiers  and  luxuries  of 
life  as  well  as  its  material  aids. 

He  disbelieved  in  all  philosophy  which  antagonizes  the  intel- 
lectual, moral  and  physical  elements  in  man.  He  regarded 
humanity  as  a  whole,  whose  director  should  be  reason,  whose 
inspiration  should  be  duty,  whose  worship  should  be  God,  whose 
aspiration  should  be  perfection  in  all  its  parts.  And  the  social 
law  of  this  humanity  he  held  to  be  that  of  kindness  and  mutual 
help. 

Those  who  were  much  with  him,  and  knew  him  in  the  unre- 
strained sociability  of  his  home,  were  struck  with  his  youthful 
elasticity  of  mind  and  ways,  his  boyish  exuberance  of  enjoyment 
and  eager  interest  in  everything,  quite  remarkable  in  a  man  of 
threescore  years.  When  one  looked  into  his  merry  eye,  the 
secret  was  out.  He  had  that  peculiar  gift  of  perpetual  boyhood 
which,  if  it  does  not  ward  off  sorrows,  certainly  enhances  pleas- 
ures. Charles  Storrs  was  never  old  in  heart,  for  charity  and 
good-will  to  all  the  world,  renewed  his  youth  continually.  As 
Wordsworth  prophesied  of  Hartley  Coleridge,  it  is  his  to 

"  Preserve,  by  individual  right, 
A  young  lamb's  heart  among  the  full-grown  flocks." 

He  died  September  i,  1884. 


HARPER   BROTHERS. 

IT  is  hardly  possible,  and  would  not  be  just  in  a  family  like  the 
Harpers  to  single  one  member  out  "for  special  notice  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  others ;  we  shall  therefore  trace  the  origin  of  the 
firm  from  its  first  establishment  down  to  the  present  time.  The 
name  itself  is  suggestive  of  the  profession  of  their  ancestors. 
The  first  persons  called  Harper  in  England  were  descendants  of 
one  of  those  famous  bards  who  in  mediaeval  times  travelled  from 
court  to  court,  singing  of  the  warlike  deeds  of  gallant  knights,  of 
the  beauty  of  fair  ladies,  and  the  glories  of  the  royal  kinsmen  won 
in  tournament  or  war:  these  bards  always  accompanied  their  songs 
with  the  music  of  the  harp,  and  hence  obtained  the  title  of 
"Harpers,"  which  in  course  of  time,  when  the  profession  became 
obsolete,  was  metamorphosed  into  a  family  or  surname,  and  be- 
came Harper.  The  coincidence  is  certainly  striking  that  the  de- 
scendants of  the  ancient  "  harpers  "  should  be  identified  with  a 
business  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  the  ancient  bards.  Be- 
fore the  age  of  printing  these  bards  or  "  harpers  "  were  the  per- 
sons who  preserved  in  their  memories,  and  recited  in  the  courts  of 
kings,  and  in  the  princely  halls  of  the  wealthy,  all  that  was  then 
extant  of  history,  genealogy,  of  poetry,  of  romance,  and  we  may 
add  such  social  gossip  as  now  appears  under  the  heading  of  "  so- 
ciety notes,"  or  "  fashion  items  :  "  they  were  the  living  books  and 
magazines  of  the  day ;  they  were  the  newspapers  and  reporters 
of  the  era  ;  they  were  the  "  regular  correspondents  "  between  one 
section  of  the  country  and  another.  In  fact  they  were  the  only 
substitutes  for  the  printed  page  then  extant  for  conveying  infor- 
mation of  passing  events,  and  preserving  the  chronicles  of  the 
past.  Is  not  the  similitude  apparent  ?  What  else  are  the  Harper 

(271) 


272  HARPER     BROTHERS. 

Brothers  doing-  to-day — only  with  a  thousand-fold  better  means 
than  mere  verbal  repetition  ! 

The  family  from  which  the  Harper  Brothers  of  New  York  are 
descended  came  to  this  country  from  England  about  1 740 ;  they 
were  Dissenters,  and  among  the  active  founders  of  Methodism  in 
this  country.  Mr.  Joseph  Harper,  who  was  born  in  1766,  and 
lived  in  Newtown,  on  Long  Island,  was  the  father  of  the  four 
famous  brothers — James,  John,  Joseph  Wesley  and  Fletcher. 
Joseph,  Sr.,  married  a  Miss  Elizabeth  Kollyer,  of  Newtown,  and 
at  this  place  was  born  the  eldest  of  the  publishing  firm,  James 
Harper,  on  the  i3th  of  April,  1795.  For  the  first  fifteen  years  of 
his  life  James  continued  to  live- on  the  farm,  assisting  his  father, 
when  needed,  and  getting  such  instruction  as  he  could  from  the 
district  school.  This  was,  of  course,  very  limited,  but  was  fortu- 
nately supplemented  at  home  by  the  instilment  of  correct  principles 
of  religion  and  morality,  and  that  kind  of  practical  wisdom  which 
experience  of  life  gives.  Books  were  few  in  most  households  on 
Long  Island  eighty  years  ago,  but  the  scarcer  they  were  the  more 
carefully  were  such  as  they  had  read  and  pondered.  What  people 
did  learn  from  books  then  they  learned  thoroughly ;  there  was  no 
skimming  over  this  and  that,  throwing  down  a  book  for  a  review 
and  a  magazine  for  a  paper,  all  within  a  few  minutes,  and  retaining 
little  of  either  in  the  memory.  An  intellectual  surfeit  is  some- 
times more  damaging  to  the  youth  than  to-  be  put  upon  the  "  short 
allowance  "  of  rustic  homes  of  a  century  ago. 

Young  James  Harper  appears  to  have  had  no  hesitancy  in 
selecting  his  future  calling;  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  be  a 
printer,  which  shows  that  there  must  have  been  some  inner  crav- 
ing for  "  more  light,"  since  he  could  scarcely  have  known  anything 
of  the  details  or  process  of  the  trade;  but  what  he  did  realize 
was,  that  this  business  would  at  least  bring  him  in  contact  with 
books  and  other  printed  matter.  James'  father  approved  of  his 
choice,  and  the  lad  was  dismissed  from  his  home  with  prayers  for 
his  welfare  and  good  advice  from  his  mother,  who  charged  him  to 


HARPER     BROTHERS.  273 

think  often  of  his  home,  to  observe  his  religious  duties,  and  not  to 
forget  that  he  had  good  blood  in  him. 

The  printing-office  in  which  James  Harper  entered  as  an  ap- 
prentice was  located  very  near  the  present  site  of  the  firm's  great 
establishment.  The  youngest  apprentice  boy  in  a  printing-office 
then  had  to  do  all  the  dirty  chores,  as  well  as  the  bidding  of  the 
older  hands  in  the  office — he  was  made  a  kind  of  general  fag,  and, 
among  other  duties,  had  to  clean  the  rollers  when  the  composition 
called  printers'  ink  had  clogged  upon  them.  It  was  scarcely  possi- 
ble in  those  days  of  hand-presses  for  a  boy  to  keep  clean  ;  the 
printers'  ink,  especially  when  cleaning  rollers,  would  get  on  his  hands, 
arms  and  apron,  and  from  thence  it  usually  reached  his  face,  and 
thus'the  printer's  boy,  with  his  blackened,  bedaubed  countenance, 
early  earned  the  name  of  "  printer's  devil."  James  Harper  was 
the  "devil  "  in  the  office  where  he  worked  ;  but  he  shirked  nothing, 
knowing  that  this  was  a  necessary  preliminary  to  advancement, 
and  that  he  would  not  remain  the  "devil"  forever.  Worse  than 
the  hard  work  and  the  dirt  was  the  annoyance  he  experienced 
from  the  idle  street  boys,  who  at  once  perceived  that  he  was  not 
city-bred  or  arrayed  in  clothes  of  city  make.  As  he  did  not  at 
first  resent  their  jeers  and  jokes,  not  wishing  to  get  in  a  quarrel, 
they  thought  they  could  proceed  with  impunity  to  hustle  and  push 
him  from  the  sidewalk,  and  at  last  one  of  them  struck  him  as  he 
was  crossing  Franklin  Square.  James  suddenly  concluded  that 
patience  had  ceased  to  be  a* virtue;  he  was  carrying  a  bucket  of 
water,  and  another  stepped  up  and  mockingly  asked  him  for  "  his 
card."  Forbearance  was  at  an  end;  he  was  an  athletic  young 
fellow  and  conscious  of  his  strength.  This  time,  instead  of  meekly 
going  on  his  way,  he  promptly  set  his  bucket  down,  seized  the 
astonished  coward  by  the  shoulders,  and,  hardly  before  the  latter 
knew  what  happened,  he  found  himself  kicked  completely  across 
the  square.  "  There's  my  card,"  said  James  Harper ;  "  take  good 
care  of  it,  and,  when  I  am  out  of  my  time  and  set  up  for  myself, 
come  to  me  for  work,  and  bring  that  card,  and  I'll  give  you  employ- 
18 


274 


HARPER    BROTHERS. 


ment."  That  lesson  sufficed  for  the  crowd;  they  saw  what  the 
"  rustic "  was  capable  of,  and  thereafter  kept  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance. James  Harper  used  to  add,  when  telling  this  story,  that  his 
youthful  tormentor  really  did  come  to  him  for  work  forty-one  years 
after  that  memorable  exchange  of  cards.  As  a  young  man  James 
was  very  strong,  and  could  easily  have  annihilated  these  street 
gamins  before,  but  he  was  eminently  peaceful  in  his  disposition, 
and,  "  though  he  had  a  giant's  strength,  did  not  care  to  use  it  as  a 
giant "  in  the  public  streets ;  but  where  he  did  apply  and  not 
spare  it  was  in  the  press-room.  Strength  counted  for  something 
in  the  days  of  the  old  Ramage  press,  and  young  Harper  soon  ob- 
tained the  reputation  of  being  the  best  pressman  in  the  city,  and 
if  a  disagreeable  person  was  set  to  work  with  him,  instead  of 
making  any  complaint  or  causing  any  contention,  he  simply  put 
out  his  whole  force  and  "  outworked  "  him,  so  that  he  would  be  re- 
moved and  his  place  supplied  with  some  one  supposed  to  be  able 
to  "work  even"  with  James  Harper;  then  the  latter  would 
shrewdly  tone  down  his  muscles  to  correspond  with  the  strength 
of  the  new  hand,  if  he  wished  him  to  remain.  In  the  course  of  a 
year  or  two  James'  brother  John  also  came  to  the  city  to  learn  the 
printer's  trade,  but  not  to  the  same  office.  However,  the  lads 
were  able  to  see  each  other  frequently,  on  Sundays  and  evenings, 
but  the  latter  not  so  often,  because  they  were  both  in  the  habit  of 
working  "  extra  hours "  in  the  evening,  saving  the  money  thus 
earned,  for  they  were  both  thriftily  inclined  ;  and,  at  a  period  when 
the  custom  of  daily  drinking  was  almost  universal,  these  young 
men  resisted  the  temptation  and  kept  their  small  savings  for 
better  uses.  James  joined  the  old  Methodist  church  in  John 
street,  becoming  an  active  member,  leading  prayer-meetings  and 
living  consistently  with  his  profession. 

When  the  long  apprenticeship  was  ended,  James'  employer  pro- 
posed to  retain  him  as  a  journeyman,  but  Mr.  Harper  informed 
him  that  he  and  his  brother  intended  to  set  up  an  office  for  them- 
selves, and  the  only  favor  he  asked  of  his  late  master  was  a  written 


HARPER     BROTHERS.  275 

certificate  that  he  was  an  able  printer,  and  competent  to  undertake 
the  printing  of  a  book ;  this  was  willingly  given,  and  the  "  rustic 
apprentice  "  rose  at  one  step  from  complete  subordination  to  that 
of  master  and  proprietor.  The  young  men  had  only  a  few  hun- 
dred dollars  each  to  start  with;  but  it  did  not  then  need  a  fortune, 
[as  it  does  now,  to  start  as  a  publisher.  Their  limited  funds,  however, 
were  somewhat  increased  by  a  small  loan  from  their  father,  and 
thus  with  light  hearts  and  clear  consciences  they  ventured  all  in 
a  few  fonts  of  type,  and  a  press,  and  hired  an  office  in  Dover 
street,  the  site  of  which  they  could  until  recently  overlook  from 
their  Franklin  Square  windows;  but  which  the  New  York  approach 
of  the  great  East  River  bridge  has  now  partially  obliterated. 
Here  they  put  up  the  sign  of  "J.  &  J.  Harper,"  and  patiently 
awaited  customers.  They  had  not  long  to  wait;  already  some  who 
knew  of  their  intention  to  open  an  office  were  ready  with  their 
jobs.  The  young  partners  did  not  hesitate  to  use  their  own  hands, 
either  in  composition  or  press-work,  and  none  of  their  employes 
worked  harder  than  they  did. 

The  first  book  which  they  undertook  was  a  reprint  of  a  very 
old  work,  "Seneca's  Morals ;"  this  was  not  published  on  their  own 
account,  but  for  the  then  well-known  publisher,  Evert  Duyckinck ; 
it  was  an  edition  of  2,000,  and  was  satisfactorily  completed  in 
August,  1817,  James  Harper  being  then  a  few  months  over  twenty- 
two.  Their  next  order  was  a  larger  and  far  more  important  one, 
and  was  given  by  the  business  committee  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  of  New  York,  who  required  a  stereotyped  edition 
of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer — quite  a  compliment  to  the  young 
firm,  with  so  many  older  rivals  in  the  field.  The  Harpers  were 
not  yet  stereotypers,  but  this  order  caused  them  to  become  so. 
On  taking  this  job,  they  had  intended  to  do  the  composition,  and 
make  up  the  forms,  and  then  have  the  stereotyping  done  at  another 
establishment;  but  finding  that  the  cost  of  the  latter  would  eat  up 
all  their  profits,  they  decided  to  learn  the  art  of  stereotyping,  and 
introduce  it  into  their  own  office ;  they  accomplished  this,  but  not 


2/6 


HARPER     BROTHERS. 


without  considerable  difficulty,  for  those  already  in  the  trade  did 
not  care  to  aid  in  setting  up  two  enterprising  rivals  at  their  own 
doors.  But  perseverance  overcomes  all  obstacles,  and  before  the 
close  of  the  year,  the  prayer  book,  stereotyped  in  their  own  office, 
was  ready  for  delivery.  This  was  quite  an  important  step  forward, 
as  it  made  them  known  to  a  large  number  of  wealthy  business 
men,  and  the  work  was  so  well  done,  that  praise  from  many  unex- 
pected sources  flowed  in  upon  them  ;  it  being  pronounced  "  the 
best  stereotyping  ever  done  in  the  city." 

Hitherto  they  had  only  filled  orders,  venturing  nothing  at  their 
own  risk,  but  during  the  second  year  of  their  business  enterprise 
they  published  on  their  own  account  a  small  edition  of  "  Locke's 
Essay  upon  the  Human  Understanding ; "  of  this  only  500  copies 
were  printed,  but  they  disposed  of  them  at  a  good  profit;  yet  they 
moved  forward  cautiously,  and  did  not  make  themselves  any  illu- 
sions as  to  sudden  success.  Neither  did  they  relax  their  own 
individual  efforts  to  make  each  book  as  perfect  in  its  way  as  the 
means  at  their  command  permitted.  They  also  took  the  precau- 
tion, before  issuing  a  work  of  any  kind,  to  ascertain  from  leading 
booksellers  how  many  copies  they  would  take ;  the  rule  they 
adopted  being,  not  to  print  a  work  unless  sufficient  orders  were 
received  in  advance  to  pay  the  actual  cost  of  production — the 
profits  they  expected  to  make  out  of  orders  after  the  book  was 
published  ;  in  this  way  they  could  scarcely  make  a  failure,  nor  does 
it  anywhere  appear  that  they  did.  The  reprint  of  foreign  works 
was  a  leading  feature  of  their  business,  and  this,  of  course,  with 
old  standard  works,  saved  authors'  royalties ;  but  it  is  rather  a 
curious  fact  that  these  young  men  should  have  habitually  selected, 
and  that  the  public  should  buy,  such  dry,  philosophical  and  meta- 
physical works  as  formed  the  basis  of  their  publications  for  several 
years. 

There  were  still  two  other  brothers  learning  the  printer's  trade, 
Joseph  Wesley  and  Fletcher  Harper.  Joseph  W.  was  added  to 
the  firm  in  1823,  and  Fletcher  three  years  later,  the  present  firn> 


HARPER     BROTHERS.  277 

name  being  adopted  in  1825  ;  and  about  the  same  time  the  office 
was  removed  to  81  and  82  Cliff  street,  in  the  rear  of  their  present 
building. 

In  this  new  location,  and  with  their  reinforced  firm,  "  Harper 
Brothers  "  greatly  extended  the  scope  of  their  publications,  and  in 
1840  their  two  buildings  were  increased  to  several  on  both  sides 
of  Cliff  street;  three  of  these  had  formerly  been  dwelling-houses, 
for  that  part  of  the  city  was  then  in  a  transition  state,  and  many 
people  of  means  still  lived  "  down-town,"  below  the  City  Hall ;  but 
even  these  enlarged  facilities  were  not  sufficient  to  accommodate 
the  Harpers'  rapidly  enlarging  business,  and  in  1850  they  erected 
a  more  commodious  structure  on  Franklin  Square,  running  back 
to  Cliff  street.  Franklin  Square  is  rather  high  ground,  but  it 
rapidly  falls  away  toward  Cliff  street,  which  really  forms  a  section 
of  that  part  of  the  city  known  as  "  the  swamp  " — and  a  swamp  it 
originally  was.  It  is  now  crossed  by  the  arches  of  the  East  River 
Bridge. 

The  elder  Harpers  had  been  in  business  over  thirty  years  before 
they  commenced  the  issue  of  the  "  Monthly  Magazine,"  which  has 
held  the  lead  of  all  our  illustrated  monthlies  since  1850.  It  was 
received  into  popular  favor  at  once  ;  and  although  a  series  of  rivals 
have  appeared  upon  the  scene,  and  one  after  another  have  become 
the  fashion  for  a  season,  "  Harper's  Monthly  "  still  holds  the  field 
against  all  comers,  and  with  its  London  branch  issues  nearly  dou- 
ble the  number  of  any  other  monthly.  Seven  years  later  "  Har- 
per's Weekly"  was  established,  and  about  a  dozen  years  later  still, 
"  Harper's  Bazar,"  both  of  which  publications  seem  to  fill  a  pub- 
lic need;  the  latter  the  feminine  portion  of  the  community  would 
scarcely  know  how  to  dispense  with.  Indeed  the  Harpers  have 
generally  shown  great  tact  in  the  books  they  have  selected  for 
publication  ;  those  who  are  well  informed  of  their  interior  history 
affirm  that  they  have  scarcely  ever  made  the  mistake  of  issuing  an 
unsalable  book ;  and  this  sort  of  judgment  implies  a  very  close 
study  of  the  popular  taste.  So  far  they  had  gone  on  prosperously, 


278  HARPER     BROTHERS. 

without  a  single  important  drawback,  with  their  workshops  on 
Cliff  street,  and  the  new  building  on  the  Square,  in  which  was  all 
the  improved  machinery  which  modern  inventions  had  produced 
up  to  the  last  month  of  1853.  Then  the  fate  which  had  overtaken 
so  many  New  York  establishments  was  theirs — the  fire-fiend 
broke  loose  and  destroyed  in  a  few  hours  the  labor  of  over  thirty 
years  of  toil  and  enterprise;  a  simple  accident,  the  throwing  of  a 
lighted  paper,  by  a  workman,  into  a  pail  of  camphene,  which  he 
"  thought  was  water,"  destroyed  in  manuscripts,  books,  plates, 
type,  machinery,  etc.,  property  worth  a  million  of  dollars,  on  which 
there  was  only  about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  insurance. 

This  great  loss  and  misfortune  came,  however,  upon  the  firm 
when  their  credit  was  thoroughly  established,  and  they  had  no 
trouble  in  making  an  immediate  contract  for  the  erection  of  a  new, 
handsomer  and  greatly  enlarged  building  on  the  same  site  which 
they  now  occupy,  facing  on  Franklin  Square,  the  lots  on  Cliff 
street  being  also  utilized  for  a  rear  building,  the  two  being  con- 
nected by  iron  bridges  over  an  open  court,  which  gives  light  to 
the  rear  of  both  buildings :  the  main  and  annex  building  are  re- 
spectively six  and  seven  stories  in  height,  and  are  absolutely  fire- 
proof as  any  building  can  be  made ;  and  one  peculiarity  of  these 
buildings  is,  that  there  are  no  internal  stairways,  except  the  short 
flight  leading  from  the  street  to  the  first  floor  above  the  basement; 
the  higher  stories  are  reached  by  spiral  iron  stairways  outside,  on 
the  rear  of  the  buildings.  The  experience  of  the  fire  had  taught 
them  many  things ;  and  now,  for  the  preservation  of  their  stereo- 
type plates,  long  vaults  or  tunnels  have  been  built  under  Franklin 
Square,  in  which  they  are  stored  and  preserved  from  all  risks. 

Up  to  the  25th  of  March,  1869,  Mr.  James  Harper,  the  original 
founder  of  this  great  business,  remained  its  head ;  though  there 
was  nothing  in  his  manner  to  indicate  that  his  junior  partners  were 
not  in  every  sense  on  an  equal  footing  with  him.  Though  nearly 
seventy-five  years  of  age  he  was  alert  and  active,  taking  a  personal 
interest  in  everything  about  the  business  as  he  had  done  forty 


HARPER     BROTHERS.  2/9 

years  before ;  but  on  that  day,  while  riding  with  his  daughter,  as 
was  his  habit  in  the  afternoon,  when  nearing  Central  Park  the  pole 
of  his  carriage  broke,  the  frightened  horses  became  unmanageable 
and  dashed  away  with  the  carriage  at  a  furious  rate ;  encountering 
some  slight  obstacle,  Mr.  Harper  and  his  daughter  were  both 
thrown  violently  to  the  ground.  Miss  Harper  was  not  much  hurt, 
but  her  father  was  taken  up  insensible  and  conveyed  to  St.  Luke's 
Hospital,  which  was  a  short  distance  from  the  scene  of  the  acci- 
dent, and  where  the  promptest  and  best  medical  attention  could 
be  secured  ;  but  medical  aid  was  useless  ;  severe  concussion  of  the 
brain  had  produced  unconsciousness,  from  which  he  never  rallied ; 
he  li'ngered  some  forty-eight  hours,  and  then  quietly  passed  away 
on  the  evening  of  the  27th.  Mr.  Harper's  sudden  death  awakened 
wide-spread  sympathy,  particularly  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
he  was  personally  known  to  hundreds  of  persons,  and  was  recog- 
nized on  the  street  by  thousands  who  remembered  with  gratitude 
the  one  Mayor  of  New  York  who  had  distinguished  himself  by 
keeping  the  streets  of  the  city  clean.  This  was  in  1844,  when  he 
was  elected  to  the  mayoralty  on  the  Native  American  ticket. 
With  the  exception  of  one  successful  episode,  he  had  never  taken 
any  very  active  part  in  politics ;  and  though  often  solicited  to  allow 
himself  to  be  nominated  for  Congress  and  other  political  positions, 
he  invariably  declined.  He  was  a  man  of  very  genial  disposition, 
and  was  full  of  pleasant  reminiscences  of  anecdotes,  with  a  strong 
infusion  of  humor ;  he  looked  what  he  was — a  contented  man,  and 
one  whose  ear  was  always  open  to  any  appeal,  either  from  his 
workmen  or  others,  which  was  based  on  justice.  He  knew  all  the 
hands  in  his  large  establishment  by  sight,  and  always  had  a  friendly 
word  ready  when  meeting  any  of  the  old  employes.  He  retained 
in  his  family  the  old  custom  of  family  prayers,  and,  though  a 
Methodist,  used  tc  some  extent  the  Episcopal  forms ;  and  it  was 
noted  by  his  family  that,  for  some  time  previous  to  the  fatal  acci- 
dent, he  had  omitted  the  words,  "  preserve  us  from  sudden  death." 
Some  of  the  family  noticed  the  omission  and  called  his  attention 
to  it,  when  he  simply  answered,  "  The  Lord  knows  best." 


28O  HARPER    BROTHERS. 

jl 

Eight  years  later  all  of  the  original  firm  had  joined  their  elder 
brother,  and  gone  over  to  the  "  great  majority."     Joseph  Wesley 
died  on  the  following  I4th  of  February,  1870;  John  died  in  April, 
1875,  a°d  Fletcher  on  May  29th,  1877.     After  the  decease  of  the 
last  member  of  the  old  firm,  a  reorganization  took  place,  and  an 
equal  partnership  was  formed  among  the  sons  of  the  deceased : 
there  are  now  six  of  them,  and  though  some  of  them  are  of  course 
cousins,  the  old  firm-name  was  retained ;  there  is,  we  believe,  no 
legal  inequality  in  the  standing  of  the  several  members  of  the 
present  partnership,  though  the  visitors  and  habitues  of  the  con- 
cern have  spontaneously  placed  Mr.  Joseph  W.  at  the  head.     He 
is  a  well-preserved  gentleman,   now  about   sixty  years   of   age, 
pleasant  and  genial   in   society,   of   solid   frame  and  florid   com- 
plexion.    Those  who  heard   him  at  the  "Holmes  Breakfast"  in 
Boston,  will  remember  also  that  he  is  something  of  an  orator.     He 
has  been  twice  married,  and  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  eldest 
son,  Mr.  Fletcher  U.  Harper,  about  two  years  ago.     Mr.  Joseph 
W.  Harper,  in  conjunction  with  other  members  of  the  firm,  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  trying  to  secure  an  International  Copyright 
Treaty,  of  such  a  character  as  would  permit  the  extended  diffusion 
of  English  reprints  in  this  country,  from  which  the  British  pub- 
lisher would  be  practically  excluded  from  participation  in  the  pro- 
fits.    In  his  argument,  addressed  to  the  Department  of  State,  he 
argues  that  the  interests  of  the  American  author  and  publisher 
are  identical,  but  that  the  interests  of  the  American  and  British 
publisher  are  necessarily  in  opposition.     This  latter  fact  "  Harper 
Brothers  "  have  had  ample  opportunity  to  know,  as  their  publica- 
tions consist  very  largely  of  English  reprints,  particularly  in  the 
department  of  fiction.  • 

The  present  Harper  establishment  occupies  a  space  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  on  Franklin  Square,  by  one  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  in  depth,  reaching  through  to  Cliff  street,  comprising 
an  area  of  ten  city  lots,  about  half  an  acre.  The  building  on 
Franklin  Square  contains  the  finished  book  depository,  the  offices 


HARPER     BROTHERS.  28 1 

of  the  firm  and  warerooms  ;  the  fagade  of  the  building  is  wholly  of 
iron,  painted  white,  each  story  having  twenty-one  ornamental  col- 
umns, and  over  the  main  entrance  stands  a  full-length  figure  of 
Franklin.  The  heavy  work  is  done  in  the  rear  building.  For- 
merly they  did  a  great  deal  of  stereotyping,  but  of  late  years  this 
has  been  superseded  by  the  electrotype  process.  Everything  re- 
lating to  the  making  of  a  book  is  done  in  this  establishment:  the 
author  leaves  his  manuscript,  and  in  due  time  the  type  is  set,  the 
forms  electrotyped,  the  plates  printed  from,  the  printed  pages 
folded  and  sewed,  the  binding  put  on,  plain  or  ornamented,  gilded 
or  embossed ;  even  the  marbling  of  paper  for  covers  is  done  here ; 
all  the  artistic  work  of  engraving  illustrations  for  books  and  the 
serial  productions  of  the  Harpers  is  done  by  a  large  corps  of 
artists,  most  being  wood-engravers,  though  other  processes  are 
used. 

The  catalogue  of  the  Harper  Brothers  for  1883  consists  of  348 
closely  printed  pages,  and  includes  every  variety  of  literature,  from 
fairy  tales  to  the  highest  philosophy,  though  if  they  have  a  pen- 
chant for  any  particular  class  of  publications,  it  is  for  works  of 
travel. 


CORNELIUS    VANDERBILT. 

IT  is  now  nearly  ninety  years  since  a  plain,  honest  farmer  of 
Staten  Island  was  rejoicing  over  the  birth  of  his  firstborn  son,  a 
bright,  healthy  boy,  but  in  general  appearance  not  different  from 
thousands  of  other  children  of  the  same  age,  and  if  some  enthusi- 
astic friend  had  then  and  there  prophesied  that  this  boy  would 
develop  extraordinary  capacity,  that  he  would  by  middle  age  vir- 
tually control  a  large  portion  of  the  commerce  of  the  State,  and 
eventually  die  the  possessor  of  over  $  1 00,000,000,  with  what  de- 
rision and  incredulity  would  such  a  horoscope  have  been  greeted! 
Yet  all  of  this,  and  more,  was  fulfilled  in  the  life  of  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt.  If  this  was  the  proper  place,  it  would  be  a  curious  and 
interesting  investigation  to  seek  out  the  physiological  and  psycho- 
logical peculiarities  which  made  this  lad  to  differ  so  widely  from 
his  own  family,  and  the  majority  of  his  fellow-men.  But  we  must 
leave  such  questions  to  the  scientists,  and  proceed  to  give  the 
outlines  of  the  life  and  transactions  of  this  financial  genius.  At 
the  time  of  the  birth  of  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  April  27,  1794,  his 
father,  for  whom  he  was  named,  was  in  fairly  comfortable  circum- 
stances, but  had  not  secured  enough  of  this  world's  goods  to  even 
dream  of  a  life  without  toil,  such  as  many  of  his  descendants  now 
enjoy,  for  numerous  brothers  and  sisters  came  in  course  of  time, 
and  household  or  farm  duties  were  shared  alike  by  parents  and 
children. 

Some  attempt  at  school  education  was  made  with  Cornelius,  but 
the  boy  did  not  take  kindly  to  his  books,  and  after  a  few  years  of 
intermittent  attendance  at  school,  and  the  imperfect  acquisition  of 
the  most  elementary  studies,  the  schoolhouse  was  abandoned,  and 
before  a  dozen  years  had  passed  over  his  head  we  find  the  future 
(282) 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBIIT. 


CORNELIUS    VANDERBILT.  283 

railway  king  an  efficient  helper  of  his  father  on  the  farm  and  on 
the  water ;  for  the  senior  Vanderbilt  owned  one  or  more  boats, 
with  which  he  conveyed  his  produce  to  the  city  for  sale,  and  Cor- 
nelius was  reliable  and  industrious — quick  to  learn — everything 
but  letters. 

A  pleasing  instance  of  the  confidence  with  which  he  was  treated 
by  his  father,  and  of  his  youthful  capacity  and  self-reliance,  is  given 
in  an  anecdote  well  authenticated,  of  a  transaction  which  occurred 
when  he  was  only  twelve  years  old.  It  seems  that  a  vessel  had 
been  stranded  near  Sandy  Hook,  and  the  elder  Vanderbilt  had 
taken  a  contract  to  unload  the  wreck  and  transfer  the  cargo  to  the 
owners  in  New  York  ;  this  was  to  be  done  by  engaging  lighters 
to  take  the  goods  across  the  bay;  but  from  the  fact  that  the  vessel 
lay  high  on  the  sands,  the  lighters  could  not  approach  her  within 
a  considerable  distance ;  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  haul  the 
goods  to  another  point,  where  there  was  deeper  water.  For  this 
purpose  wagons  were  used,  and  on  this  service  young  Cornelius 
was  employed,  taking  charge  of  the  horses  and  wagons.  The 
goods  being  all  transferred  to  the  lighters,  the  boy  set  out  for 
home  with  his  teams.  He  had  to  drive  several  miles  to  South 
Amboy,  in  New  Jersey,  and  there  take  the  ferry  to  Staten  Island ; 
but  his  father  had  omitted  to  furnish  him  with  any  money  for  the 
ferriage,  which  amounted  to  six  dollars.  For  a  moment  the  boy 
was  in  doubt  how  to  overcome  the  difficulty,  but  soon  made  up  his 
mind ;  he  went  to  the  keeper  of  the  tavern,  and  offered  to  leave 
with  him  one  of  the  horses  as  surety,  if  he  would  loan  him  the 
money.  The  man  had  never  seen  him  before,  but  was  naturally 
struck  with  surprise  at  seeing  such  a  youth  intrusted  with  the 
undertaking  which  he  had  described,  and  admiring  his  pluck, 
readily  gave  him  the  money.  The  horse  was  promptly  redeemed 
within  forty-eight  hours.  His  most  remarkable  trait  as  a  boy  was 
his  determination — what  he  planned  to  do,  he  did  ;  so,  that  among 
his  companions,  if  it  was  known  that  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  meant 
to  do  anything,  it  was  considered  as  already  done.  Later  in  life 


284  CORNELIUS     VANDERBILT. 

he  was  very  reticent  of  his  intentions  ;  as  Shakespeare  puts  the 
phrase  into  the  mouth  of  a  prudent  person, 

"  Since  what  I  well  intend 
I'll  do't  before  I  speak." 

It  is  a  very  common  thing  for  boys  in  a  seaport  to  have,  at  some 
period  of  their  youth,  a  strong  desire  to  go  to  sea,  and  Cornelius 
did  not  escape  the  mania  natural  to  his  age  and.  location.  His 
homestead  was  on  the  shore  of  the  glorious  bay  of  New  York, 
second  to  none  in  this  hemisphere  for  beauty  and  ever-succeeding 
visions  of  picturesque  activity.  Young  Vanderbilt  knew  every 
craft  belonging  to  the  port  by  sight ;  he  watched  the  ships  that 
sailed  for  Europe  come  and  go,  and  could  tell  the  build  and  rig- 
ging of  every  sail-boat  and  coaster  that  came  and  went  through  the 
sound,  or  trafficked  on  the  rivers ;  he  never  mistook  a  sloop  for  a 
schooner,  or  a  brig  for  a  bark.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  he  longed 
to  extend  his  sphere  of  vision,  and  increase  his  experience  by 
foreign  voyages  ?  Indeed,  we  know  of  no  seaport  more  seductive 
in  its  outlines  to  an  imaginative  or  ambitious  lad,  than  is  offered 
by  the  bay  of  New  York.  The  "  Narrows  "  have  the  effect  upon 
the  eye  of  an  ever-open  door — leading  out  into  the  world  beyond ; 
and  into  that  great  unknown  young  Cornelius  longed  for  egress. 
Neither  had  the  water  any  terrors  for  him,  but  was  rather  like  a 
familiar  creature,  with  which  he  toyed  in  his  brief  moments  of 
recreation,  and  made  serviceable  in  his  serious  hours.  For- 
tunately for  himself,  he  did  not  positively  decide  to  become  a 
sailor.  On  this  subject  he  sensibly  consulted  his  mother,  who 
finally  dissuaded  him  from  it.  He  persisted,  however,  in  declining 
farm-work  as  his  permanent  choice — if  he  could  not  be  a  sailor, 
then  he  would  be  a  boatman — that  was  practicable,  and  would  not 
separate  him  permanently  from  his  home.  But  youth  in  those 
days  had  not  all  the  liberties  of  the  present.  It  was  customary  for 
parents  then  to  require  all  the  earnings  of  their  children  until 
they  had  arrived  at  their  majority ;  and  they  were  rarely  allowed 


CORNELIUS     VANDERBII.T.  285 

to  pick  and  choose  what  they  would  do.  Despite  all  this,  Cor- 
nelius meant  to  have  a  boat.  He  applied,  as  usual  in  all  straits, 
to  his  mother  (who  was  not  only  an  oracle  to  the  family,  but  to  a 
widely  extended  neighborhood),  described  what  he  expected  to 
do  with  it,  and  argued  that  he  could  earn  more  money  with  it 
than  in  any  other  way.  In  short,  he  wanted  a  hundred  dollars  to 
buy  a  boat. 

His  maternal  .parent,  having  gained  her  main  point  of  prevent- 
ing the  seafaring  project,  was  not  inflexible  on  the  new  request, 
but  she  gave  him  a  heavy  task.  His  appeal  was  made  on  the  ist 
day  of  May,  1810.  There  was  on  the  farm  an  eight-acre  lot, 
which  was  such  poor  ground — hard,  rough  and  stony — that  it  had 
never  been  brought  under  cultivation.  Mrs.  Vanderbilt  promised 
her  son  that  if  he  would  plough,  harrow  and  plant  that  lot  with 
corn  before  the  27th  of  the  month  (the  day  on  which  he  would  be 
seventeen)  he  should  have  the  hundred  dollars.  It  was  hard 
work,  but  he  did  it.  He  received  the  hundred  dollars,  and  the 
farm  was  benefited  to  the  extent  of  an  addition  of  eight  acres 
brought  into  use.  Cornelius  knew  just  where  the  boat  lay  which 
he  wanted ;  he  had  long  had  his  eye  upon  it.  Hastening  to  a 
neighboring  settlement  the  purchase  was  made,  and  probably 
gave  him  more  triumphant  happiness  than  many  hundred-thou- 
sand-dollar purchases  which  came  later  in  his  career.  He  started 
in  his  boat  for  home ;  but  whether  it  was  that  elation  made  him 
less  careful  than  usual,  or  that  the  obstruction  was  unknown  to 
him,  when  nearing  home  his  boat  struck  upon  a  sunken  wreck, 
and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  he  beached  her,  so  rapidly  did 
she  fill  with  water.  But  the  disaster  was  soon  remedied,  and  its 
proud  owner  immediately  took  his  place  as  a  regular  boatman 
plying  between  Staten  Island  and  New  York,  carrying  passengers 
or  freight  as  desired.  Certainly  thus  far  in  his  career  there  had 
been  no  "  luck  ;  "  everything  had  been  gained  by  hard  work.  He 
soon  made  his  mark,  in  his  new  vocation,  as  a  person  who  could 
be  trusted ;  he  was  prompt,  persevering,  and  worked  many  more 


2g6  CORNELIUS     VANDERBILT. 

hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  than  any  of  his  competitors  on  that 
bay.  Many  nights  he  worked  all  night,  although  most  of  our 
modern  youth  would  have  thought  it  very  discouraging  to  be 
obliged  to  give  up  all  his  day  earnings  to  his  parents,  and  half  of 
his  night  profits,  which  he  did,  and  with  the  residue  he  clothed 
himself.  Certainly  he  could  have  had  no  expensive  bad  habits,  for 
all  his  money  was  accounted  for.  The  first  three  years  he  made 
about  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum ;  and  it  was  conceded  that 
he  had  the  best  boat,  and  the  best  reputation  as  a  boatman,  on  the 
bay. 

Up  to  this  time  Cornelius  had  been  a  profitable  son  to  his 
parents.  He  was  now  nineteen,  and  yet  lacking  two  years  of  his 
majority ;  but  he  wished  to  marry,  and  of  course  could  not  do  so 
unless  his  parents  surrendered  their  right  to  his  earnings.  Ap- 
proving of  his  choice,  they  did  so,  and  a  neighbor's  daughter,  Miss 
Sophia  Johnson,  became  his  wife.  She  proved  every  way  a  help- 
meet to  him,  in  council  and  action,  and  late  in  life  he  frequently 
acknowledged  her  ever  loyal  consideration  and  assistance. 

Cornelius  Vanderbilt  engaged  in  boating,  and  after  a  few  years 
of  successful  business  built  for  himself  a  small  steamer,  named  the 
"Caroline;"  which,  after  serving  his  purposes,  passed  into  other 
hands,  meeting  with  an  uncommon  fate.  This  was  the  famous 
"Caroline"  which  figured  in  the  Canadian  waters  during  the 
so-called  "  Rebellion,"  a  generation  ago.  The  steamer  was  cut 
from  her  moorings  at  Black  Rock,  set  on  fire,  and,  like  some 
sacrificial  offering,  launched  by  an  excited  party  of  patriots,  with 
her  head  turned  toward  the  rapids,  which  bore  her,  wrapped  in 
flames,  over  the  mighty  falls,  where  in  a  moment  she  was 
dashed  to  pieces  in  the  whirlpool  of  raging  waters  below. 
From  this  time  onward  Vanderbilt  continued  building  steamers, 
mostly  for  the  river  and  coasting  trade,  until  his  numerous 
fleet  gained  for  him,  by  spontaneous  acclamation,  the  title 
of  "Commodore"  which  was  never  afterwards  dropped.  Al- 
together, including  the  ocean  steamers  which  came  later  in  his 


CORNELIUS   VANDERBILT.  287 

career,  he  was  wholly  or  part  owner  of  one  hundred  vessels,  not  a 
single  one  of  which  was  wrecked,  burnt  or  destroyed  by  explo- 
sion.* This  remarkable  fact  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  ex- 
treme care  with  which  he  selected  his  principal  officers,  and  secur- 
ing the  very  best  men  attainable,  he  always  treated  them  with  a 
liberality  which  secured  their  fidelity  and  even  personal  attachment. 

It  was  when  he  was  at  the  zenith  of  his  steamboat  operations 
that  he  built  the  world-renowned  "  North  Star,"  a  pleasure  steam- 
yacht  of  princely  dimensions,  in  which,  with  some  of  his  family  and 
a  party  of  friends,  he  visited  Europe,  spending  the  summer  of  1853 
in  calling  at  the  various  ports  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  British 
Isles,  the  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic.  At  this  period  such  visitors 
from  America  were  a  novelty  on  the  other  side,  and  the  party  were 
consequently  the  recipients  of  much  attention  and  many  pleasant 
courtesies.  It  is  a  gracious  act  to  record  that  on  the  return  of  the 
"North  Star,"  in  September,  when  coming  in  sight  of  the  old 
homestead  and  Staten  Island,  "  Commodore  "  Vanderbilt  ordered 
a  grand  salute  to  be  fired  in  honor  of  his  aged  mother. 

Two  years  later  two  ocean  steamships  were  built  by  him  to  run 
to  Havre,  the  only  European  line  ever  owned  by  an  individual. 
At  this  time  the  "  Collins  Line  "  to  England  was  receiving  a  sub- 
sidy from  the  United  States  government  for  carrying  the  mails. 
Vanderbilt  wished  to  form  a  partnership  with  Collins,  but  the  latter 
declined ;  yet  when  the  "Arctic  "  was  lost  the  former  offered  the 
use  of  the  "North  Star"  until  his  rival  could  replace  her;  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  even  offering  to  forego  the  mail  subsidy  for  the  period 
during  which  the  "North  Star"  should  perform  the  service ;  still 
Collins  refused:  he  seemed  to  be  afraid  lest  the  "  Commodore," 
getting  a  foothold,  would  absorb  the  whole.  Nothing  daunted, 
Mr.  Vanderbilt's  next  move  was  an  offer  to  Congress  to  carry  the 
United  States  mails  free  of  cost  to  the  government ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which  the  subsidy  hitherto  paid  to  Collins  was  with- 

*The  "Westfield,"  which  he  built,  and  which  exploded  at  her  dock,  near  the  Battery,  was  not 
at  the  time  of  the  accident  owned  by  Cornelius,  but  by  his  brother  Jacob. 


288  CORNELIUS     VANDERBILT. 

drawn,  and  the  "Collins  Line"  soon  disappeared  from  the  ocean. 
But  Vanderbilt  did  not  follow  up  his  success  by  establishing  an- 
other, as  it  was  expected  he  would  do;  he  probably  "  saw  no  money 
in  it,"  and  he  was  not  the  man  to  carry  on  an  enterprise  knight- 
errant  fashion,  yet  for  the  gratification  of  a  sentiment,  though  not 
lacking  in  patriotism,  as  afterwards  appeared.  He  was  thorough 
American  in  his  feelings,  and  on  one  occasion  when  a  traveled 
friend  suggested,  that  with  so  much  wealth  he  "  wondered  he  was 
contented  to  remain  in  the  States,"  adding,  "  I  should  think  you 
would  transfer  your  funds  and  go  and  reside  in  Europe." 

"  Not  I,"  said  the  commodore,  emphatically ;  "  my  money  was 
made  here,  and  here  it  ought  to  be  spent,  and  shall  be." 

But  his  attention  was  no.w  directed  to  a  totally  different  point, 
and  of  an  almost  equally  ambitious  character  as  the  "  Collins  " 
enterprise. 

In  1849  ne  obtained  from  the  government  of  Nicaragua  a  charter 
for  a  company,  under  the  name  of  the  "American  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  Ship  Canal  Company,"  going  personally  to  England  to 
raise  additional  funds  for  the  gigantic  work  contemplated.  In 
1851  the  name  of  this  company  was  changed  to  that  of  the  "Ac- 
cessory Transit  Company."  Commodore  Vanderbilt  went  to  Cen- 
tral America  and  carefully  inspected  the  whole  region  in  which  he 
intended  to  operate.  He  placed  two  steamers  on  the  river,  the 
"  Clayton  "  and  "  Bulwer,"  and  another  of  large  size,  the  "  Central 
America,"  on  the  lake.  He  also  went  himself  up  the  San  Juan 
river  above  the  Castillo  rapids,  a  feat  previously  deemed  impos- 
sible. He  caused  strong  cables  to  be  fastened  to  the  trees  on  the 
banks,  and  thus  warped  his  boat  over  the  perilous  course.  Up 
to  this  time  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company,  connecting  with 
the  Panama  Railroad,  had  enjoyed  all  the  carrying  trade  with  Cali- 
fornia, charging  passengers  $600  in  gold  from  New  York.  Under 
his  grant  from  the  Nicaraguan  government  Vanderbilt  started  an 
opposition  line:  putting  his  first  ocean-built  steamer,  the  "Pro- 
metheus," and  then  the  "Webster,"  "Star  of  the  West"  and  the 


CORNELIUS    VANDERBILT.  289 

"  Northern  Light,"  on  the  Atlantic  side,  and  on  the  Pacific  five 
others.  He  then  put  the  through  fare  down  to  $300,  and  started 
his  boats  promptly  every  fortnight ;  he  consequently  soon  had  the 
cream  of  the  ttrade,  building  many  additional  steamers,  and  in 
every  direction  accumulating  immense  sums,  adding  to  his  already 
large  fortune. 

In  1853  he  sold  out  to  tfe  Transit  Company,  and  Mr.  Charles 
Morgan  became  its  president;  but  in  1856  he  re-entered  into  that 
office.  But  now  an  unexpected  character  appeared  on  the  scene 
and  changed  the  course  of  events.  An  individual  known  in  local 
phrase  as  the  "  filibuster  "  Walker,  who  had  entered  Nicaragua  as 
a  revolutionist,  seized  upon  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  franchise,  and,  with- 
out  any  regard  to  right  or  justice,  resold  it  to  other  parties — 
creatures  of  his  own.  The  commodore  consequently  withdrew 
his  steamers  from  the  Central  American  waters,  selling  the  greater 
part  of  them  at  a  good  profit,  getting  out  of  this  enterprise  over 
$2,000,000  richer  than  he  went  in. 

From  this  period  he  began  by  degrees  withdrawing  his  interest 
from  shipping,  to  some  extent,  and  investing  in  railroads  ;  ten  years 
later  he  was  director  in  several ;  and  when  the  war  broke  out  in 
1860  his  investments  were  already  in  great  measure  transferred 
from  the  water  to  the  land,  so  that  his  prosperity  suffered  no 
special  shock  by  the  practical  destruction  of  our  foreign  carrying 
trade. 

Having  gained  considerable  experience  in  the  manipulation  of 
stocks,  he  invested  largely,  more  especially  in  "  Harlem,"  "  Hud- 
son River  "  and  "  Central."  One  of  his  most  successful  operations 
was  in  connection  with  Harlem.  He  had  bought  heavily  of  this 
stock  when  it  was  in  a  most  depressed  condition,  advancing  to  the 
company  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  consequently  was  placed 
upon  the  directors' board,  and  in  1863  became  president  of  the 
road.  Under  his  judicious  management,  and  perhaps  the  magic 
of  his  name,  with  which  success  seemed  ever  allied,  the  stock  which 
had  been  at  30  in,  January  rose  in  July  to  92,  and  by  a  skillful 
19 


290  CORNELIUS     VANDERBILT. 

manoeuvre  was  made  to  take  a  sudden  jump  in  August  up  to 
179.  The  next  year  occurred  the  famous  "  corner  in  Harlem," 
which  sent  this  stock  up  to  the  astounding  figure  of  285  ! 

It  was  after  this  grand  "  bulling  "  exploit  that  tlje  directors  of 
the  Central  road,  coveting  his  influence,  offered  him  the  presidency. 
He  bought  the  Hudson  River  Railroad  outright,  and  had  now 
in  New  York  State  but  one  rival  in  the  field  worthy  of  his  metal 
— this  was  the  Erie  road,  then  identified  with  the  names  of  the 
famous  trio,  Daniel  Drew,  Jay  Gould  and  James  Fisk.  Vander- 
bilt  wished  to  procure  the  consolidation  of  the  "  Harlem "  and 
"  Hudson  River,"  and  for  this  purpose  caused  a  bill  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  legislature  at  Albany.  Of  course,  Mr.  Vanderbilt 
had  "  seen  "  or  caused  to  be  seen  a  sufficient  number  of  the  mem- 
bers to  secure  a  majority  for  his  bill.  But  whether  it  was  under 
the  suggestion  of  his  ever-watchful  antagonist,  Mr.  Drew,  or  arose 
from  the  speculating  minds  of  members,  or  of  the  lobby,  treachery 
cropped  out  and  a  coalition  was  formed  to  defeat  the  bill,  its 
deserting  friends  evidently  believing  that  they  could  make  more 
in  that  way  than  by  passing  it.  Many  privately  "gave  away  the 
point "  to  their  friends,  that  Harlem  stock  could  soon  be  bought 
for  a  song.  But  this  conspiracy  was  not  so  secretly  managed  but 
that  it  reached  the  ears  of  Harlem's  president.  He  made  no 
protest  to  his  defaulting  friends  in  the  assembly,  but  quietly  went 
into  the  market  and  bought  up  every  scrap  of  Harlem  stock  to 
be  found.  In  the  meanwhile  the  derelict  assemblymen  and  their 
friends  had  been  selling  Harlem  "short"  for  future  delivery.  The 
bill  for  the  consolidation  was  defeated,  and  the  conspirators  looked 
to  see  Harlem  fall.  To  their  astonishment  it  stood  firm,  and  when 
they  went  into  the  market  to  buy  the  stock  for  delivery  there 
was  none  to  be  had ;  they  were  consequently  obliged  to  pay  on 
"  call "  the  value  of  the  stock,  which  they  had  sold  at  a  high  price. 
Many  of  the  speculators  were  ruined ;  while  Vanderbilt's  gains 
be^an  to  roll  up  in  fabulous  sums. 

But  his  opponent,  Drew,  who  had  suffered  severely  by  the  pre- 


CORNELIUS     VANDERBILT.  2QT 

vious  corner  in  Harlem,  was  now  at  the  head  of  the  "  Erie,"  and 
soon  a  battle  royal  took  place  between  these  railroad  kings. 
Vanderbilt  was  original  assailant,  bringing  on  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable financial  wars  in  history.  "  Erie  "  was  at  this  time  seek- 
ing to  extend  her  connections  west,  and,  for  this  purpose,  it  was 
Meemed  necessary  by  the  directors  to  issue  new  bonds  to  build  a 
broad-gauge  road.  This  new  issue  Vanderbilt  aimed  to  prevent, 
as  every  improvement  in  Erie  was  supposed  to  detract  from  the 
profits  of  the  Central  and  the  Hudson.  At  this  time,  what  with 
the  alliance  of  Jay  Gould  and  James  Fisk,  as  well  as  Drew,  who 
were  interested  in  Erie,  this  was  a  combination  hard  to  beat. 
There  followed  along  an  interesting  struggle ;  injunctions  and 
counter-injunctions  were  every-day  proceedings,  and  at  one  period 
the  directors  of  Erie,  with  Drew  at  their  head,  fled  to  Jersey  to 
escape  the  service  of  legal  papers.  At  least  two  judges  were 
seriously  implicated  during  these  proceedings.  One  was  im- 
peached for  bribery,  and  another  prudently  resigned.  In  the  end, 
however,  Drew  beat  the  commodore,  receiving  the  legislative 
authority  to  issue  new  stock,  and  pocketing  about  $7,000,000  of 
Vanderbilt's  money.  The  latter,  however,  nothing  daunted,  sur- 
prised the  "  street"  by  his  firm  and  courageous  bearing  and  the 
evidence  that  even  the  loss  of  so  large  a  sum  could  not  cripple 
him,  and,  to  add  to  his  eclat,  the  same  year  the  Central  declared  a 
dividend  of  eighty  per  cent,  and  was  consolidated  with  the 
Hudson.  This  grand  combination  of  three  profitable  railroads — 
Harlem,  Central  and  Hudson — in  one  pair  of  hands  marks  a 
new  era  in  railroad  management.  If  Drew  was  a  railroad  king, 
Vanderbilt  was  now  emperor.  Vanderbilt's  skill  in  management 
was  as  great  as  his  ambition  to  accumulate ;  he  never  borrowed  to 
pay  dividends,  as  was  a  frequent  custom  ;  they  came  from  the  ac- 
tual earnings. 

From  this  time  onward  it  has  been  impossible  to  exactly  estimate 
the  wealth  of  the  railroad  emperor.  At  the  time  of  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  Harlem  and  Hudson  the  property  was  estimated  at 


CORNELIUS    VANDERBILT. 


$35,000,000  ;  he  very  soon  increased  the  capital  to  $90,000,000, 
and,  on  this  enormous  sum,  paid  annual  dividends  of  eight  per 
cent.  His  will  did  not  disclose  the  amount  he  left,  but  it  was 
probably  near  $100,000,000.  Some  of  his  uses  of  money  may  be 
considered  as  public  benefits,  and  in  these  are  included  his  im- 
provements in  railroad  accommodations.  In  1862,  during  the 
most  depressed  period  of  the  Union  forces  during  the  war,  he 
made  the  magnificent  gift  of  his  splendid  steamer,  the  "  Vander- 
bilt,"  to  the  Government.  Its  cost  was  about  $800,000.  The 
United  States  was  greatly  in  need  of  vessels,  and  the  gift  was 
timely  and  valuable.  Congress  passed  a  resolution  of  thanks  and 
ordered  a  gold  medal,  commemorative  of  the  event,  to  be  struck 
and  presented  to  him. 

It  will  naturally  be  imagined  that  a  man  of  the  vigorous  energy 
of  the  commodore,  whose  almost  unvarying  success  had  been  won 
by  his  own  personal  qualities,  and  was  owed  in  no  way  to  luck  or 
fate,  would  have  small  patience  with  weaklings  of  any  kind,  even 
in  his  own  family.  This  disposition  betrayed  itself  in  his  lifetime, 
and  eventually  caused  him  to  make  a  wide  discrimination  as  to  the 
disposition  of  his  immense  fortune.  His  son  Cornelius  never 
stood  very  high  in  the  commodore's  estimation  ;  he  was  not  pru- 
dent in  his  use  of  money,  nor  in  any  sense  a  good  financier.  It 
was  often  difficult  for  this  young  man  to  get  money  from  his  father 
in  his  frequent  emergencies  ;  consequently  "  Corneel,"  as  he  was 
commonly  called,  often  had  recourse  to  other  friends  for  temporary 
loans,  and  among  the  most  liberal  of  these  was  the  late  Horace 
Greeley.  The  commodore,  hearing  of  this,  and  naturally  sup- 
posing that  the  ci-devant  editor  of  the  Tribune  would  finally  look 
to  him  for  reimbursement,  determined  to  put  his  veto  on  these 
transactions.  Marching  with  his  ponderous  form  and  heavy  tread 
into  the  sanctum  one  day,  he  abruptly  greeted  the  editor  with  the 
remark  : 

"  Mr.  Greeley,  I  hear  you  are  lending  Corneel  money." 
Greeley  took  his  time  to  finish  a  line  or  two,  and  then  slowly 
answered,  "  Yes,  I  have  let  him  have  some." 


CORNELIUS     VANDERBILT.  293 

"  Well,  now  I  give  you  notice  that  you  needn't  look  to  me.  I 
sha'n't  pay  it." 

"Who  the  devil  asked  you?"  rejoined  Greeley;  "I  haven't, 
have  I?"  Not  another  word  was  said,  and  the  commodore 
stalked  out. 

Corneel,  though  in  bad  odor  generally  with  his  father,  had  for- 
tunately made  a  marriage  which  pleased  the  old  gentleman ;  his 
wife  was  a  Miss  Williams,  of  Hartford,  now  deceased.  When 
Corneel  needed  money  to  fit  up  a  house  in  that  city,  he  could  get 
none  from  his  father ;  at  last  his  wife  made  an  essay. 

"  How  much  do  you  want  ? "  asked  the  father-in-law 

"  — dollars/'  was  the  reply. 

The  commodore  drew  his  check  and  handed  it  to  her.  If  he 
thought  anything  about  it  afterwards,  it  was  probably  in  the  ex- 
pectation that  another  request  of  the  same  sort  would  follow. 
Nor  was  he  surprised  when  a  few  weeks  later  Corneel's  wife  again 
appeared  in  his  office. 

"What  now?"  asked  the  commodore. 

"  Nothing,  papa  ;  only  I've  brought  back dollars;  it  was 

more  than  I  needed,  and  I've  brought  you  what's  left." 

It  was  probably  the  first  experience  of  that  kind  which  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  had  ever  met  with,  and,  whether  it  was  shrewdness  or 
innocence  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Cornelius,  Jr.,  it  worked  to  a  charm. 
From  that  time  forward  "Corneel's  wife"  could  get  anything  out 
of  her  father-in-law. 

It  was  one  of  the  pleasant  traits  of  Commodore  Vanderbilt's 
character  that  he  never  forgot  his  origin,  nor  the  old  homestead ; 
in  fact,  though  he  lived  for  many  years,  during  the  latter  part  of 
his  life,  in  New  York  city,  No.  10  Washington  Place,  his  first  grand 
house  was  in  Staten  Island,  and  built  upon  a  corner  of  his  father's 
farm,  which  he  had  bought  when  quite  a  young  man,  and  which, 
before  he  built  upon  it,  was  recognized  by  the  neighbors  as  "  Cor- 
neel's lot."  Its  sight,  when  bought,  was  on  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  farm  and  very  near  the  water's  edge,  but  later  improve- 


294  CORNELIUS    VANDERBILT. 

ments  in  filling  in  carried  out  the  shore-line  nearly  an  eighth  of  a 
mile  beyond  the  house,  which  is  situated  upon  a  rise  of  land  over- 
looking the  bay;  the  approach  being  handsomely  terraced,  and 
separated  from  the  road  by  a  substantial  stone  coping  and  high 
iron  fence.  The  mansion  subsequently  passed  into  the  hands  of 
George  Law,  and  later  was  bought  by  Mr.  George  H.  Daly,  and 
while  it  was  occupied  by  him  as  a  residence  was  almost  entirely 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  roof  was  utterly  consumed,  and  the  whole 
interior  ruined.  The  loss  was  fully  covered  by  insurance,  and  the 
building  was  reconstructed  by  the  owner.  To  those  who*  take  an 
interest  in  looking  up  the  habitations  of  distinguished  men,  and 
would  like  to  see  the  sometime  residence  of  the  great  railroad 
king,  we  would  suggest  that  they  take  the  Staten  Island  ferry  to 
Tompkinsville,  and  walk  toward  Stapleton  by  the  beautiful  "Shore 
road;"  midway  between  these  places  will  be  found  the  house  which 
Mr.  Vanderbilt  erected  for  his  permanent  home. 

Mr.  Vanderbilt's  death  occurred  on  the  morning  of  the  4th 
of  January,  1877,  after  the  illness  of  six  months,  the  result  of  a 
complication  of  diseases.  The  great  bulk  of  his  gigantic  fortune 
descended  to  his  son  William  H. 

Commodore  Vanderbilt  was  the  father  of  thirteen  children  by 
his  first  wife — four  sons  and  nine  daughters — nearly  all  of  whom 
lived  to  adult  age.  His  second  wife,  whom  he  married  late  in  life, 
was  a  Miss  Crawford,  of  Mobile,  Ala.  •  And  to  this  accomplished 
lady  and  devoted  Christian  is  to  be  attributed  the  influence  which 
caused  the  endowment  of  the  "  Vanderbilt  University,"  located  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  the  gift  to  Dr.  Deems  of  the  Church  of  the 
Strangers,  with  those  other  beneficent  acts  which  marked  the  last 
years  of  the  veteran  financier's  life.  A  model  woman  in  domestic 
and  social  life,  she  still  survives,  sharing  her  wealth  with  the  needy, 
encouraging  every  good  word  and  work,  making  the  name  of  Van- 
derbilt known  and  respected  in  circles  of  usefulness  and  piety,  far 
removed  from  the  passions  and  struggles  of  Wall  street  and  the 
stock  exchange. 


;-,y-v 
£* 

WM.  H.  VANDERBILT. 


WILLIAM    H.   VANDERBILT. 

WILLIAM  H.  VANDERBILT,  eldest  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born 
in  New  York  city,  in  1821.  He  received  a  good  education  in  one 
of  the  many  excellent  private  academies,  which  were  at  that  time 
more  popular  with  people  of  means  than  the  public  schools.  He 
was  a  good  average  scholar,  popular  with  his  companions,  but 
without  any  special  inclination  for  letters.  From  some  undiscov- 
ered reason,  the  commodore  had  fixed  his  mind  on  one  of  his 
younger  sons  as  his  future  business  successor.  As  William  grew 
towards  man's  estate,  his  father's  wealth  was  rapidly  increasing, 
so  that  there  was  no  need  for  haste  in  the  selection  of  a  calling  or 
profession.  If  the  young  man  had  any  peculiar  leaning  at  this 
time  towards  any  pursuit,  or  if  he  desired  to  enter  the  arena  of 
speculation,  his  father  did  not  regard  his  wishes.  After  concluding 
his  studies  at  Columbia  College  grammar  school,  he  entered,  for 
a  short  period,  the  house  of  Drew,  Robinson  &  Co.,  New  York. 
It  was  not  long  after  his  majority  that  he  wooed  and  won  for  his 
wife  the  estimable  Miss  Louisa  Kissam,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Kissam,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.  As  the  commodore  up  to  this  time  had 
not  perceived  in  his  eldest  son  any  peculiar  fitness  for  the  career 
of  a  financier,  he  bought  him  a  farm  of  between  two  and  three 
hundred  acres,  at  New  Dorp,  on  the  easterly  side  of  Staten  Island. 
Though  not  a  farmer  from  choice,  Mr.  Vanderbilt  took  hold  of  his 
new  profession  with  energy,  employing  a  skilled  farmer  to  supple- 
ment his  own  lack  of  knowledge  of  agriculture ;  he  soon  became 
interested  in  his  new  possession,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
there  was  no  better  or  more  productive  farm  in  Richmond  county 
than  his. 

But  a  farm  of  limited  size,  with  plenty  of  competitors  near  by, 

(295) 


296 


WILLIAM     H.     VANDERBILT. 


with  nearly  all  the  labor  on  the  place  to  be  paid  for  in  solid  cash, 
could  never  at  any  time  or  under  any  superior  system  of  culture 
be  made  to  yield  a  very  abundant  income  for  a  growing  family. 
Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt  did  not  propose  to  force  his  sons  to 
become  farmers.  He  added,  in  the  course  of  years,  sufficient  acres 
to  nearly  double  the  original  boundaries  of  his  land ;  but  with  all 
his  natural  prudence  debts  accumulated,  and  to  raise  the  sum  of 
$8,000  he  was  obliged  at  one  time  to  give  a  mortgage  for  that 
amount  on  his  place. 

The  neighbor  who  advanced  him  the  money  was  very  loqua- 
cious, and  not  very  discreet ;  meeting  with  his  jovial  friends  over 
a  social  glass  he  would  draw  out  his  mortgage  papers,  displaying 
them  to  the  crowd,  and  boast  of  having  such  a  lien  on  the  farm  of 
the  great  financier's  son  ;  for  the  name  of  the  commodore  was  at 
this  time  known  throughout  the  country,  and  his  large  wealth 
already  counted  by  millions.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  was 
accidentally  seen  and  overheard  by  a  cousin  of  Mr.  Vanderbilt, 
who,  annoyed  and  indignant  at  the  man's  impertinence  and  bad 
taste,  went  the  next  morning  to  the  commodore's  office,  and  nar- 
rated the  circumstance.  This  brought  the  elder  gentleman  to 
reflection.  He  immediately  ordered  his  carriage  drove  over  to 
New  Dorp,  and  inquired  of  his  son  if  it  was  true  that  he  owed 
money. 

William  replied  in  the  affirmative,  explaining  that  with  the  in- 
crease in  his  family,  expenses  necessarily  multiplied,  and  that  he 
had  to  raise  money  somewhere. 

"  Well,"  said  the  commodore,  "  come  over  to  my  office  in  the 
morning ;  I  am  loaning  a  little  on  real  estate  myself  now  !  "  On 
his  way  back  to  the  city,  he  called  on  the  mortgagee,  and  re- 
quested him  to  bring  his  papers  over  the  next  day.  Thus  the 
affair  was  brought  to  a  happier  conclusion  than  William  had  an- 
ticipated. The  commodore  took  up  the  mortgage,  and  William 
heard  no  more  about  it.  And  in  this  peaceful,  if  not  quite  satis- 
factory sphere  of  gentleman-farmer,  within  about  a  dozen  miles  of 


WILLIAM     II.     VANDERBILT.  297 

Wall  street,  where  his  father's  name  was  a  power  almost  irresist- 
ible, and  at  whose  word  millions  changed  hands  in  a  day,  this 
"heir  apparent"  to  the  great  railroad  king  passed  nearly  thirty 
years  of  his  early  manhood  and  middle  prime ;  his  father,  mean- 
while, placing  his  expectations  of  a  successor  upon  his  son  George, 
who  was  educated  at  West  Point,  and  who,  in  the  Union  army 
before  Corinth,  contracted  a  disease  from  which  he  never  recov- 
ered. 

In  the  hopes  of  receiving  benefit  from  change  of  air  and  scene, 
he  went  to  Europe,  but  never  returned,  dying  in  Park,  thus  com- 
pletely shattering  the  hopes  which  his  father  had  placed  upon  him. 
Another  son  had  died  in  early  life,  and  the  only  one  remaining  be- 
sides William  was  Cornelius  Jeremiah,  who  was  born  in  1830,  and 
who  had  never  shown  either  the  capacity  or  stability  of  the  eldest 
born.  Cornelius  J. — "  Corneel,"  as  he  was  commonly  called — had 
neither  the  physique  nor  the  disposition  of  either  of  his  parents ; 
he  seemed  to  be  in  every  respect  the  opposite  of  the  grand  figure 
of  the  commodore.  His  taste  for  high  play  rendered  it  impossi- 
ble to  intrust  him  with  the  funds  of  others,  while  his  physical  disa- 
bilities made  his  life  at  times  a  burden  to  himself.  This  was  the 
son  who,  after  his  father's  death,  brought  on,  together  with  one 
other  member  of  the  family,  the  great  "  will  "  contest.  Suffering, 
as  he  thought,  unjustly  from  his  father's  continual  criticisms  and 
displeasure,  when  about  eighteen  years  of  age  Cornelius  left  his 
home  and  took  ship,  as  a  hand  before  the  mast,  in  a  vessel  bound 
for  California  (in  1849),  during  the  height  of  the  gold  mania. 
On  his  return,  after  only  a  brief  stay  there,  his  father  caused  him 
to  be  placed  in  the  Bloomingdale  insane  asylum  ;  the  only  evidence 
of  insanity  appeared  to  be  the  fact  that  he  had  used  his  father's 
name  to  procure  funds  when  suffering  from  actual  need  in  San 
Francisco.  This  incarceration  did  not  last  long,  however,  and  sub- 
sequently his  father  made  him  a  moderate  allowance  on  which  to 
live,  increasing  this  considerably  after  his  marriage,  in  1856.  As 
will  be  remembered  by  most  of  our  readers,  the  suit  at  law  was 


298  WILLIAM     H.    VANDERBILT. 

compromised  by  Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt  paying  the  expenses 
of  the  suit  and  the  payment  of  $1,000,000  to  Cornelius  J.  This 
unfortunate  young  man,  after  honorably  settling  his  nimierous 
debts  in  New  York — notably  the  large  amount  he  owecf  to  the 
heirs  of  the  late  Horace  Greeley — finally  ended  his  life  by  suicide, 
on  the  2d  of  April,  1882,  at  the  Glenham  Hotel,  on  Fifth  avenue, 
New  York. 

From  this  slight  reference  to  the  way  of  life  and  habits  of 
"  Corneel,"  it  is  evident  that  the  commodore  could  not  rely  upon 
him,  as  the- successor,  to  properly  handle  his  enormous  fortune, 
and  he  was  finally  forced  to  fall  back  upon  his  eldest  son  as  his 
only  reliance  ;  and  the  result  has  proved,  what  a  great  many  of  the 
friends  of  the  family  always  suspected,  that  William  possessed  far 
more  ability  than  his  father  had  ever  given  him  credit  for.  In 
fact,  William  H.  never  had  any  fair  opportunity  to  show  his 
capacity  as  a  financier  in  his  early  life.  He  was  peculiarly  circum- 
stanced. Had  his  father  been  a  man  of  only  moderate  wealth,  his 
son  would  undoubtedly  have  burst  away  from  the  repressive  con- 
trol and  .influence  which  surrounded  him.  But  no  man  could 
afford  to  throw  away  his  chances  of  becoming  heir  to  $100,000,- 
ooo,  and  hence  prudence  kept  him  for  so  many  good  years  of  his  life 
in  the  passive  attitude  of  a  prince,  one  day  destined  for  a  throne,  but 
excluded  by  the  ruling  sovereign  from  any  participation  in  the  con- 
trol of  affairs.  But  at  last  the  hour  of  recognition  came.  About 
1870  the  commodore  began  to  realize  the  possible  merits  of  the 
son  whom  he  had  kept  so  long  in  abeyance,  and  gradually  began 
to  initiate  him  into  his  own  business  moves,  and  to  give  him 
"points"  by  which  he  could  profit  in  the  stock  market.  It  must, 
we  think,  have  awakened  some  compunctious  thoughts  in  the  mind 
of  the  old  gentleman  when  he  saw  with  what  shrewdness  and 
quickness  of  appreciation  his  long-neglected  heir  took  to  the 
"street"  and  held  his  own  against  powerful  rivals  and  experienced 
veterans  in  the  financial  struggles  of  the  stock  exchange.  It  was 
not  long  after  his  introduction  to  Wall  street  that  he  left  Staten 
Island  and  took  up  his  permanent  residence  in  New  York. 


WILLIAM    H.    VANDERBILT.  299 

After  the  death  of  the  commodore,  and  the  accumulation  of  all 
his  vast  business  interests  in  the  hands  of  his  son,  Mr.  Vanderbilt's 
main  care  was  to  preserve  them.  For  his  own  comfort  he  did  not 
care  to  add  to  his  wealth  ;  but  this  often  seemed  imperative.  To 
prevent  the  undermining  of  his  principal  railroads  he  had  to  get 
control  of  others,  which  were  "  feeders  "  to  the  Central,  and  which, 
like  the  so-called  "  Nickel-Plate,"  would,  if  left  in  other  hands,  have 
become  inimical  to  his  interests,  instead  of  helpful.  But  his  recent 
operations,  particularly  in  the  Southwest,  belong  to  the  current 
news  of  the  day  and  need  no  repetition  here.  After  his  father's 
decease,  what  with  accrued  income  and  property  added,  there  was 
art  immense  increase  to  his  almost  fabulous  fortune.  At  the  lowest 
figures  his  fortune  was  now  put  at  $280,000,000  or  $300,000,000. 
Property,  over  a  certain  point,  accumulates  fast,  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable the  Vanderbilt  estate  will  realize  the  predictions  of  those 
who  made  its  progress  a  study.  Enormous  as  the  sum  was,  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  did  not  probably  enjoy  life  more  fully  than  tens  of 
thousands  of  his  countrymen  who  reckon  by  hundreds  where  he 
counted  by  millions.  So  vast  a  property  must  have  become  a  bur- 
den to  be  carried,  but  not  enjoyed. 

There  was  one  particular  in  which  Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt 
strongly  resembled  his  father,  and  that  was  in  his  appreciation  of  a 
good  horse.  He  owned  for  years  many  of  the  best  trotters  in 
the  country,  and  probably  never  enjoyed  himself  better  than  when 
speeding  some  favorite  team  on  the  road,  such  as  Maud  S.  and 
her  mate.  But  he  was  not  a  betting  man,  and  never  allowed  his 
horses  to  be  trotted  for  money.  He  was  absolutely  indifferent  as  to 
the  price  he  paid  for  an  animal  he  coveted.  His  stables  were  fitted 
up  with  every  known  improvement  for  the  health  and  comfort  of 
his  equine  pets  ;  indeed  their  quarters  were  almost  as  luxurious  as 
many  fashionable  dwellings.  He  was  a  good  liver,  and  it  is  said 
paid  $7,000  a  year  to  his  head  cook.  Mr.  Vanderbilt  never  forgot 
his  old  home  in  New  Dorp,  and,  among  other  gifts  in  that  commu- 
nity, and  especially  to  the  Moravian  Church  there,  he  added  the 


300 


WILLIAM    H.    VANDERBILT. 


present  of  a  new,  beautiful  and  commodious  parsonage  for  the 
pastor.  He  also  made  handsome  additions  to  the  already  well- 
endowed  "  Vanderbilt  University,"  founded  by  his  father,  in  Ten- 
nessee, and  in  many  ways  not  made  public. 

Of  the  five  magnificent  houses,  built  by  Mr.  Vanderbilt  and  his 
two  sons,  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  the  most  important 
of  the  group  was  that  of  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  both  in  respect  of  dimen- 
sions and  of  general  design.  The  adjoining  houses  are  united 
by  a  common  vestibule. 

The  entrance  to  Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt's  house  is  guarded 
by  admirable  copies  in  bronze  of  Ghiberti's  "  Gates  of  Paradise," 
made  by  Barbedienne,  at  a  cost  of  $25,000.  The  entrance-hall, 
drawing-rooms,  library,  picture-gallery,  conservatory  and  dining- 
room,  all  of  stately  dimensions,  would  prove  interesting  reading, 
did  but  space  admit  of  detailed  descriptions.  The  picture- 
gallery  is  of  greater  interest  to  the  general  public  than .  any 
other  feature  of  the  mansion,  and  its  contents  are  likely  to 
be  well  known  to  New  Yorkers  for  a  great  many  years  to 
come. 

Mr.  William  H.  Vanderbilt  had  a  family  of  four  sons  and  as 
many  daughters.  The  two  eldest  sons,  Cornelius  and  William  K., 
were  wealthy  in  their  own  right  before  he  died,  and  their  resi- 
dences rate  second  in  the  city  of  New  York  only  to  that  of  their 
father.  The  combined  mansions  of  the  Vanderbilt  family  are  an 
ornament  and  credit  to  the  city.  Mr.  William  K.'s  residence  is  on 
the  block  above  his  father's,  on  the  corner  of  Fifty-first  street  and 
Fifth  avenue ;  that  of  Cornelius  is  on  the  corner  of  the  same 
avenue  and  Fifty-seventh  street.  Both  of  these  sons  are  in  active 
business,  and  have  proved  themselves  astute  financiers. 

MR.  CORNELIUS,  the  eldest  son  of  Mr.  William  H.,  is  perhaps  the 
most  popular  of  the  family,  if  not  the  acutest  business  man. 
Neither  he  nor  his  wife  are  considered  "airish."  He  is  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Trinity  Chapel  Sunday-school,  and  is  very  genial  in 


WILLIAM     H.    VANDERBILT.  3OI 

manner.     He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation. 

It  was  at  the  residence  of  William  K.  Vanderbilt,  which  is  at 
the  corner  of  Fifty-second  street  and  Fifth  avenue,  that  the  "  great 
Easter  Ball"  (in  costume)  was  given,  in  the  winter  of  1883,  at  a 
cost  of  $50,000.  The  style  of  the  entertainment,  the  value  of  the1 
costumes  worn,  and  the  excitement  it  created  among  society  peo- 
ple in  the  city  were  unprecedented. 

Mrs.  William  K.  Vanderbilt  is  a  Southern  lady,  a  recognized 
leader  of  fashion  in  the  city.  It  has  been  noticed  that  not  only 
does  her  coiffeur  frequently  sparkle  with  diamonds,  but  also  the 
buckles  on  her  slippers.  Invitations  to  her  receptions  are  much 
sought  after ;  some  persons  so  far  forgetting  their  self-respect  as 
to  solicit  them.  But  this  lady  is  also  very  benevolent.  One  of  her 
pet  objects  of  charity  is  the  "  Seaside  Home  "  for  poor  and  invalid 
children.  Mrs.  Vanderbilt  gave  several  acres  of  land  at  Islip,  L.  I., 
and  also  the  house  used  for  the  accommodation  of  the  children. 
She  has  also  organized  concerts  and  other  entertainments  for  the 
benefit  of  this  association. 

Beside  these  two  sons,  who  are  competent,  to  a  great  extent,  to 
overlook  the  railroad  management  which  their  grandfather  first 
undertook,  there  are  two  more,  Fred  and  George,  who,  beside 
being  younger,  are  also  less  stable  and  cautious  than  their  broth- 
ers. The  former  married  the  divorced  wife  of  his  cousin  a  few 
years  since,  an  escapade  which  greatly  troubled  his  parents.  As 
he  had  the  sum  of  $2,000,000  left  him  by  his  grandfather,  it  is  sup- 
posed that  he  felt  able  to  marry,  but  his  father  has  taken  the  young 
people  home  to  live  with  him.  George  has  attained  his  majority 
only  recently,  and  is  yet  unmarried.  Of  the  four  daughters,  the 
eldest,  Mrs.  Elliot  Shepherd,  and  the  second,  Mrs.  Sloane,  with  their 
respective  families,  occupy  the  double  house  built  by  their  father, 
William  H.  Vanderbilt,  on  the  lot  adjoining  his  own  home.  These 
have  been  already  described.  The  third  daughter,  Mrs.  Twomb- 
ley,  has  a  house  just  above  her  late  father's,  on  Fifth  avenue  ;  and 


3Q2  WILLIAM    H.    VANDERBILT. 

the  youngest,  Mrs.  Seward  Webb,  is  making  plans  to  have  a  resi- 
dence very  near  them  all.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Webb  are  still  at  the 
paternal  mansion,  which  is  large  enough  to  hold  all  the  posterity 
which  may  gather  around  the  expansive  hearth-stone.  They  are 
a  pleasant,  cheerful,  affectionate  family,  and  have  a  good,  sensible, 
plain  mother,  with  no  affectations  and  few  weaknesses.  Mr.  Van- 
derbilt  died  December  8,  1888. 


COLONEL    E.   L.    DRAKE. 

AMONG  the  benefactors  of  mankind  may  very  properly  be  placed 
the  name  of  Colonel  Drake,  the  first  man  to  unloose,  by  the  simple 
process  of  boring,  the  apparently  inexhaustible  treasures  of  the 
oleaginous  sand-tract  of  Pennsylvania.  That  the  earth  contained 
oil, has  been  known  forages;  and  it  seems  not  improbable  that 
the  great  dramatic  poet  of  Uz — the  Job  of  the  Hebrews — had  been 
an  operator  in  oil-wells ;  what  else  may  be  the  meaning  of  his 
lament :  "  O  that  I  were  as  in  months  past,  when  the  rock  poured 
me  out  rivers  of  oil ;  "  surely  his  well  had  "  gone  dry,"  and  helped 
to  bankrupt  him  !  Though  it  is  well  known  that  petroleum  oil  is 
found  in  other  parts  of  the  earth,  yet  no  deposit  has  been  discov- 
ered in  any  way  equal  in  quantity  and  value  to  the  oil-wells  of 
Pennsylvania. 

The  medicinal  virtues  of  the  oil,  especially  for  outward  applica- 
tions, for  sprains,  rheumatic  and  other  ills,  had  been  known  to  the 
Indians  who,  in  their  primitive  way,  extracted  the  oil  which  floated 
on  the  surface  of  the  Allegheny  and  other  streams  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  by  dipping  their  blankets  in  the  stream,  and 
wringing  out  the  oil.  The  first  white  settlers  in  Northwestern 
Pennsylvania,  and  certain  other  sections  of  the  country  in  Ohio  and 
New  York,  learned  its  use  from  the  aborigines,  and  many  are  still 
living  who  will  remember  a  famous  "  Seneca  Oil "  which  was  sold 
as  a  universal  cure-all  many  years  ago,  and  which  was  nothing  else 
than  this  petroleum  oil  put  up  in  bottles,  and  labelled  as  a  great 
discovery.  It  was  also  the  base  of  a  famous  veterinary  remedy, 
which  had  its  day,  and  a  very  profitable  day  too,  under  the  name 
of  "  Mustang  Liniment."  Neither  were  its  illuminating  qualities 
altogether  unknown.  More  than  fifty  years  ago  the  American 

(303) 


304  COLONEL     E.     L.     DRAKE. 

Journal  of  Science  (for  the  year  1826)  published  a  communication 
of  a  Dr.  Hildreth,  in  which  he  speaks  of  a  man  digging  a  well  and 
being  astounded  by  a  sudden  flow  of  oil ;  which  oil,  he  added,  was 
coming  into  use  for  lighting  workshops  and  factories;  and  the 
writer  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would  yet  be  used  for  street 
illumination;  this  was  written  of  the  Muskingum  district  in  Ohio, 
but  the  flow  probably  subsided,  for  no  extended  use  appears  to 
have  been  made  of  it. 

As  with  all  other  useful  discoveries,  various  claimants  arise  to 
share  or  dim  the  honors  of  the  real  practical  discoverer.  In  fact, 
sometimes  the  same  invention  or  discovery  is  made  simultaneously 
by  two  or  more  persons.  In  regard  to  petroleum,  the  only  con- 
flicting facts  are  these :  As  to  priority  of  time,  Colonel  A.  C.  Fer- 
ris, of  New  York,  claims  to  have  introduced  into  the  city  the  first 
petroleum  for  illuminating  purposes,  which  he  established  as  a 
business  in  November,  1857;  but  this  petroleum,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, was  obtained  exclusively  from  salt-wells  already  existing  in 
Pennsylvania.  In  many  of  these  salt-wells  oil  had  freely  appeared, 
and  until  utilized  by  Colonel  Ferris,  had  run  to  waste  and  was  lost, 
except  small  quantities  which  had  been  preserved  for  medical  pur- 
poses. The  whole  amount  obtained  from  these  salt  mines  did  not 
exceed  three  or  four  thousand  barrels  a  year;  but,  in  1859,  Colonel 
Drake  bored  especially  for  oil  on  the  Watson  Flat,  near  Oil  creek, 
and  was  thus  the  actual  pioneer  of  the  oil  business,  as  developed 
since  that  time,  and  which  has  assumed  proportions  third  only  in 
the  great  exporting  products  of  the  country. 

Before  his  connection  with  the  famous  oil-wells,  Colonel  Drake 
had  been  employed  as  a  conductor  on  the  New  York  and  New 
Haven  Railroad ;  he  was  smart  and  shrewd — -just  the  person  to 
make  good  use  of  an  unexpected  opportunity,  and  his  chance  came 
in  this  way:  A  firm  had  existed  in  New  York  for  some  years, 
under  the  name  of  Evelith  &  Bissell,  who  had  been  receiving  from 
the  vicinity  of  Titusville  about  a  gallon  of  petroleum  oil  a  day ; 
they  owned  one  spring,  which  they  eventually  passed  as  assets  in 


COLONEL    E.    L.    DRAKE.  305 

payment  of  debt  to  certain  parties  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut ; 
these  parties  formed  a  company,  and  employed  Colonel  Drake  to 
go  out  to  Pennsylvania,  and  see  what  the  property  was  worth,  and 
what,  if  anything,  could  be  made  out  of  the  well ;  he  was  the  right 
man  for  such  an  enterprise.  He  came  to  Titusville,  surveyed  all 
the  land  about  that  region,  and  soon  made  up  his  mind  that  "there 
was  a  good  deal  more  in  Seneca  oil  than  its  proprietors  ever 
dreamed  of,  or  Mustang  Liniment  ever  claimed."  In  fact,  he  "saw 
millions  in  it."  He  believed  that  by  digging  or  boring  far  enough, 
unlimited  supplies  of  oil  might  be  obtained.  At  that  time  he  and 
others  thought  that  there  existed  in  the  earth  streams  or  pockets 
of  oil,  much  as  water  is  found  to  exist  in  springs  or  subterranean 
rivers  ;  this  theory,  however,  was  exploded  by  careful  geological 
and  topographical  surveys,  which  have  proven  that  the  oil  is  really 
contained  in  beds'or  strata  of  sand,  and  that,  in  connection  with  it, 
is  an  explosive  gas,  which  finds  vent  when  the  bore  reaches  a  cer- 
tain depth,  which  the  pumping  process  aids.  After  the  first  outflow 
of  gas  and  oil,  the  pump  may  succeed  in  raising  a  supply  for 
weeks  or  months;  or,  the  oil  may  cease  to  flow  after  the  first  pres- 
sure has  been  relieved.  Nor  has  there  any  rule  or  any  signs  yet 
been  discovered,  by  which  it  can  be  foreseen  which  wells  will  con- 
tinue to  give  a  permanent  supply,  or  which  will  subside  in  a  few 
days  or  weeks. 

When  Colonel  Drake  first  commenced  to  sink  a  well  on  Wat- 
son's Flat,  about  a  mile  south  of  Titusville, .  the  people  in  the 
vicinity  looked  upon  him  as  a  harmless  monomaniac,  with  more 
money  than  brains ;  and  so  silly  did  they  think  the  project,  that  he 
could  scarcely  even  hire  men  to  do  the  digging,  but  finally  he 
induced  a  man  who  had  been  accustomed  to  bore  for  salt  to  assist 
him,  and  he  brought  his  two  sons  into  the  work.  They  had  no 
faith  in  any  good  result,  but  thought  they  might  as  well  profit  by 
his  lunacy  as  any  one  else.  After  many  difficulties,  Colonel  Drake 
rigged  a  derrick,  and  on  the  28th  of  August,  1859,  after  boring  only 
sixty-nine  and  a  half  feet,  he  "sfrurk  oil  "  The  three  men  had  leit 

?0 


COLONEL     E.    L.     DRAKE. 

work  the  evening  previous  without  haying  any  idea  of  success ; 
but  on  coming  to  work  in  the  morning  of  the  eventful  day  iound 
the  hole  which  they. had  excavated  filled  with  oil.  It  took  but  a 
few  minutes  to  dip  out  a  barrel  full,  and  but  a  few  more  hours  for 
the  news  to  run  like  wildfire  over  Crawford  and  Warren  counties, 
and  from  thence  over  the  whole  country. 

No  sooner  was  the  news  authenticated  than  floods  of  specula- 
tors covered  the  region  with  workmen,  digging  wells ;  land  was 
bought  at  fabulous  prices,  and  some  farmers  refused  to  sell  at  al- 
most any  price ;  derricks  arose  in  the  air,  as  if  they  had  been 
natural  crops  of  the  soil ;  and  the  whole  vicinity  of  Titusville  was 
honey-combed  with  wells,  and  then  prospectors  moved  to  other 
districts  in  search  of  oil.  At  first  only  valley  sites  were  thought 
to  be  worth  working,  but  as  the  excitement  and  the  market  value 
rose,  it  was  soon  reasoned  out,  that  -the  side  of  *a  hill  or  even  the 
summit,  if  not  too  high,  was  available;  the  oil-sand  lay  imbedded 
at  a  certain  distance  below  the  surface  of  the  valley,  but  quite  as 
likely  under  the  hill  as  under  the  lower  level ;  hence  it  was  only 
to  dig  the  extra  distance  through  the  elevated  ground  to  be  as 
sure  of  reaching  it  as  from  the  depths  of  a  gulch — of  course  it  cost 
more,  but  what  was  a  few  score  feet  of  earth  or  a  few  hundred 
dollars  when  the  prize  was  so  rich  and  buyers  of  stock  so  en- 
thusiastic ! 

Every  one  was  not  so  fortunate  as  Colonel  Drake  in  striking 
oil  at  less  than  seventy  feet  below  the  surface.  In  the  Oil  Creek 
region  the  delvers  had  frequently  six  hundred  feet  of  soil  to 
penetrate  before  their  eyes  were  gladdened  with  a  sight  of  the 
oleaginous  fluid.  In  the  widely  extended  Bradford  district  from 
a  thousand  to  two  thousand  feet  was  the  average  range ;  and  in 
the  famous  Cherry  Grove  field  the  depth  varied  from  nine  hun- 
dred to  sixteen  hundred  feet.  The  yield  was  as  varied  as  the 
labor  of  obtaining  it ;  it  would  often  happen  that  a  well  would  roll 
out  thousands  of  gallons  a  day  when  isolated,  but  on  other  wells 
in  me  vicinity  tu^  ),dd  w'Gi.iU  ^laclually  decrease, 


COLONEL     E.     L.     DRAKE.  507 

perhaps  the  whole  would  be  drawn  off  by  the  new-comers;  but  the 
increase  in  the  general  yield,  by  the  immense  number  of  wells 
opened  in  various  parts  of  the  oil  regions,  was  something  enor- 
mous. During  Colonel  Drake's  first  year  his  well  yielded  only 
.some  two  thousand  barrels.  The  next  year  new  operators  had 
drawn  from  the  same  region  half  a  million  barrels.  In  1861 
there  were  two  millions  one  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  six 
hundred  and  nine  barrels  produced.  The  next  year  it  had  risen 
to  between  three  and  four  million  barrels,  then  the  yield  slackened 
and  new  fields  were  sought  out.  Of  the  most  prolific  of  these 
was 'the  Tidioute  district  (in  which  was  the  famous  Pithole  well), 
and  several  sites  in  Butler,  Clarion  and  Venango  counties.  It  was 
not  until  1875  that  the  remarkable  Bradford  district  was  opened 
up.  This  lies  farther  to  the  north  and  east  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania than  what  is  known  as  the  original  oil  region,  and  a  portion 
of  the  district  extends  over  the  line  into  southern  New  York,  in 
Cattaraugus  county,  and  from  this  section  alone  was  drawn  in 
1880  the  almost  incredible  amount  of  22,000,000  barrels ! 

From  1859  onward  there  have  been  successive  furores,  booms 
and  panics  over  oil  wells  and  oil-stocks,  but  while  it  lasted  the 
"  Cherry  Grove  "  excitement  exceeded  all  others,  and  "  646  "  built 
up  and  destroyed  probably  more  fortunes  than  any  other  well 
which  was  ever  worked.  The  site  was  in  Warren  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  discovery  was  made  in  a  locality  called  Cherry 
Grove  by  a  party  of  "  wild-catters  "  in  1882.  "  Wild-catters  "  are 
simply  men  who  go  about  prospecting,  taking  their  chance,  sink- 
ing a  well  here  and  there  at  hazard.  In  fact,  there  seems  no  sur- 
face indication  as  to  the  probable  presence  of  oil,  and  pioneers 
must  either  buy  wells  already  opened  or  "take  their  chances,"  since 
science  refuses  to  come  to  their  aid.  These  "  wild-catters  "  were 
indeed  in  luck ;  the  Cherry  Grove  well  began  its  flow  with  four 
thousand  barrels  a  day — twice  as  much  as  Colonel  Drake  procured 
for  the  first  twelve  months  he  operated  in  Titusville.  It  was  on 
the  1 7th  of  May,  1882,  when  "646"  burst  forth  with  its  appar- 


•p8  COLONEL     E.    L.    DRAKE. 

ently  exhaustless  strearri  of  wealth,  and  in  less  than  a  month  two 
good-sized  towns  had  sprung  up  in  the  wilderness  beside  it.  The 
townships  of  Garfield  and  Farnsworth  still  remain,  a  testimony  to 
the  attractive  influence  of  the  Cherry  Grove  wells.  At  the  end 
of  three  months  the  region  about "  646"  was  yielding  forty  thousand 
barrels  a  day ;  but  that  was  its  maximum  ;  since  then  the  decline 
has  been  gradual  but  continuous.  The  mysterious  number,  "646," 
so  often  quoted  at  the  petroleum  exchange,  was  given  to  this  most 
prolific  well,  simply  because  it  was  upon  a  section  of  ground  thus 
numbered  by  a  surveyor  of  the  district. 

No  substance  has  ever  been  dealt  in  that  is  of  so  entirely  a 
speculative  nature  as  petroleum.  If  ever  there  were  "  fancy  stocks," 
these  take  the  lead ;  copper,  lead,  silver  and  £old  mines  have 
figured  in  that  line,  but  an  earnest  investigator  may  always  learn 
something  of  their  real  value,  or  lack  of  value  ;  with  oil  it  is  dif- 
ferent; a  well  may  be  running  finely  to-day  and  cease  to  run  to- 
morrow, or  the  supply  may  be  short  and  the  price  suddenly  goes 
up ;  those  who  hold  it  feel  very  rich ;  but  the  news  comes  that  a 
new  well  is  opened  up,  perhaps  a  typical  "646,"  and  is  pouring 
out  its  thousands  of  gallons  per  day ;  down  falls  the  stock,  and 
those  who  do  not  hedge  very  lively  are  caught  and  ruined.  As  a 
specimen  of  the  differences  in  prices  we  recall  an  incident  which 
occurred  before  the  "United  Pipes  Line  Company"  (controlled  by 
the  Standard  Oil  Company)  was  organized.  Owners  of  wells  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  floating  their  barrels  down  the  river  to  near  a 
railroad  station  ;  one  night  the  river  suddenly  froze  and  that  style 
of  exportation  was  stopped  ;  but  one  more  energetic  than  the  rest 
quietly  hired  a  gang  of  laborers  to  cut  a  narrow  channel  for  a 
certain  distance,  got  his  oil  afloat,  reached  a  railroad  station, 
shipped  his  oil  to  New  York,  and  obtained  for  it  thirteen  dollars  a 
barrel,  the  market  being  short.  A  few  days  later  there  came  a 
thaw,  when  all  ihe  operators  in  the  oil  regions  set  their  petroleum 
afloat  on  the  Allegheny  and  other  streams  ;  the  market  was  flooded ; 
i/rices  broke  under  the  pressure,  and  the  late  comers  had  to  sell 
at  ninety  cents  a  barrel. 


COLONEL     E.     L.     DRAKE.  309 

We  have  spoken  of  Colonel  Drake  as  a  benefactor  of  the  hu- 
man race,  and  such  he  may  truly  be  considered,  in  view  of  the 
many  important  results  which  have  accrued  to  the  mercantile 
world,  and  the  community  in  general,  from  the  introduction  of 
petroleum.  Merchants  may  know,  but  the  general  reader  does 
not,  that  there  are  nearly  a  dozen  articles  of  great  commercial 
value  derived  from  this  substance,  among  which  are  naphtha,  par- 
affine,  kerosene,  gasoline,  all  used  in  various  arts  and  manufac- 
tures, and  from  the  residuum  is  chemically  obtained  those  beautiful 
aniline  dyes,  the  value  of  which  all  can  appreciate.  But  its  money 
value  in  commerce,  under  its  various  forms,  is  of  comparatively 
small  consequence,  in  comparison  to  its  value  as  a  civilizer,  and 
friend  of  intellectual  culture.  To  those  who  live  in  cities  this  is 
not  so  apparent,  but  to  the  thousands,  yes,  millions  of  people* 
scattered  over  both  hemispheres,  who  live  beyond  the  precincts  of 
gas-light,  petroleum  has  been  a  boon  indeed.  Between  the  disap- 
pearance of  whale-oil  and  the  use  of  candles,  half  the  world  has 
lived  through  its  evenings  unlighted,  or  but  half  illuminated,  until 
the  introduction  of  kerosene,  or  some  of  petroleum,  has  enabled 
them  to  have  a  cheap  and  bright  light,  than  which  nothing  is  more 
conducive  to  family  comfort.  Writers  praise  the  printing-press 
as  a  great  civilizer,  but  to  people  who  have  only  a  tallow  dip  or  a 
pitch  pine  knot  to  light  the  common  sitting-room,  the  printed  page 
can  scarcely  become  the  enlightener  of  mind,  the  cultivator  of 
thought  which  it  is  described  as  being  ;  even  the  newspapers  will 
find  few  readers  who  are  obliged  to  put  up  with  an  inefficient 
light,  while  the  bright  clear  lamplight,  which  petroleum  has  made 
possible  for  all  classes,  is  a  true  civilizer  by  the  aid  it  renders  the 
poor  student ;  when  the  evening  lamp  is  lit  it  says  to  the  young 
people,  as  plainly  almost  as  if  the  words  were  spoken,  "  Come, 
bring  your  books  and  sit  down  by  me ;  read,  study,  look  at  the  pic- 
tures, brighten  up  your  minds,  as  I  brighten  up  your  counte- 
nances ;  "  and,  responding  to  this  cheerful  invitation,  that  twin  civil- 
izer, the  press,  is  able  to  accomplish  its  refining  work  in  the 


3 IO  COLONEL     E.    L.    DRAKE. 

poorest  log-cabin.     Is  not  the  man  a  benefactor  who  has  made 
this  luxury  possible  to  the  poorest  home  ? 

Colonel  Drake  continued  for  several  years  his  operations  in  the 
oil  regions  with  various  success  :  at  one  time  he  was  in  possession 
of  a  large  fortune  which  by  sudden  reverses  he  lost,  but  which  he 
would  soon  have  retrieved  had  not  his  constant  labor  and  expos- 
ure so  undermined  his  health  that  he  was  unable  to  oversee  his 
own  interests  as  heretofore.  After  1864,  though  he  did  a  little 
now  and  then,  he  was  practically  out  of  the  race  for  the  big  prizes, 
and  he  eventually  abandoned  the  oil  fields.  But  more  fortunate 
than  some,  whom  ill-health  has  thus  overthrown,  the  generous 
State  of  Pennsylvania  came  to  his  aid.  In  1873  her  legislators, 
mindful  of  the  enormous  wealth  he  had  developed  out  of  her  wild, 
almost  valueless  lands,  bestowed  upon  him  a  pension  of  $1,500  per 
annum  as  a  slight  token  of  their  appreciation  of  the  benefits  he 
had  conferred  upon  Pennsylvania  and  the  world.  This  pension 
reverted  to  his  wife  on  his  death.  Colonel  Drake  settled  in  New 
Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  lived  until  1881,  but  was  a 
confirmed  invalid  for  the  last  eight  years  of  his  life.  It  cannot  be 
said  of  him  as  of  some  others,  "  the  evil  men  do  in  their  lifetime 
lives  after  them,  but  the  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones." 
The  reverse  has  been  Colonel  Drake's  happy  fate.  We  know  of 
no  evil  that  he  ever  did ;  but  the  good  is  not  to  be  interred  with 
his  bones,  for  his  many  friends,  and  those  who  have  profited  by  his 
discovery,  intend  to  erect  at  Titusville,  on  the  New  Oil  Exchange, 
a  life-size  statue  to  his  memory :  "  The  Drake  Monument  Fund  " 
being  heartily  endorsed  by  his  magnanimous  early  rival,  Colonel 
A.  C.  Ferris. 


HENRY   VILLARD. 

IN  the  summer  of  1853  a  tall,  dark-complexioned  lad,  witn 
brown  hair  and  bright  black  eyes,  formed  one  of  a  large  number 
of  emigrants  who  had  left  the  old  German  "  vaterland "  to  try 
their  fortunes  in  the  new  world.  This  young  man  was  called  by 
his  countrymen  Heinrich  Hilgard.  He  was  of  a  good  family  from 
the  old  imperial  city  of  Speyer  on  the  Rhine ;  his  father  was  for 
many  years  in  the  civil  service  of  Bavaria,  and  in  later  life  a  judge 
of  the  district  court  of  Zweibrucken,  where  Heinrich  spent  most 
of  his  childhood ;  he  received  a  good  education,  passing  succes- 
sively through  the  elementary  and  Latin  schools  of  Speyer,  the 
French  college  at  Palfzbourg  Lorrain,  graduating  at  the  gymna- 
sium of  his  native  place  at  the  age  of  eighteen  in  1852.  While 
pursuing  his  studies  young  Hilgard  often  thought  of  the  great  land 
in  the  West,  to  which  several  members  of  his  father's  family  had 
emigrated  years  before,  settling  in  St.  Louis  and  Belleville,  Illinois ; 
he  decided,  when  his  books  could  be  laid  aside,  to  follow  the  course 
of  his  out-wandering  relatives,  and  seek  his  life's  pursuit  in  the 
United  States,  where  his  friends  were  all  in  a  prosperous  condi- 
tion: one  of  his  uncles  being  Prof.  Julius  Hilgard,  of  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey;  another,  Robert  Hilgard,  being  an  officer  in 
the  savings  bank  at  Belleville,  Illinois.  Instead,  however,  of  going 
directly  West  Heinrich  remained  in  New  York  for  about  a  year, 
and  then  joined  his  uncle  Robert  in  Illinois,  but  did  not  remain 
there  long,  feeling  the  place  too  small  for  his  ambitions.  While 
in  Belleville,  however,  he  began  to  write  for  the  local  papers,  and 
his  contributions  being  readily  accepted  he  soon  sought  to  dispose 
^f  them  in  a  larger  market,  and  began  writing  descriptions  of  the 
Vest  for  P.  German-American  paper  published  in  New  York  ;  but 

(3") 


312  HENRY     VILLARD, 

Heinrich  Hilgard  was  a  young  man  of  brains,  who  reflected  as 
well  as  acted,  and  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  if  he  would  make  the  most  of  his  journalistic  talents  he 
must  so  thoroughly  conquer  the  English  as  to  be  able  to  write  in 
that  language. 

In  Belleville,  also,  the  Germans  were  so  numerous  that  it  was 
difficult  to  get  sufficient  practice  in  English  conversation,  and  he 
removed  to  Peoria,  with  the  intention  of  studying  law,  but  the 
native  impulse  to  write  was  too  strong  for  him ;  he  relapsed  into 
journalism  after  a  few  months,  going  to  Chicago,  where  better 
opportunities  offered.  In  his  travels  about  the  State  he  fortunately 
met  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  Horace  Greeley,  being 
then  on  his  trip  to  Pike's  Peak  and  California,  and  the  latter  en- 
gaged him  to  follow  up  the  political  campaign  (in  the  summer  of 
1858),  and  particularly  to  report  the  discussions  and  speeches  of 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  Following  this  task 
to  the  end  of  the  fall,  he  then  proceeded  to  Indianapolis  to  report 
the  proceedings  of  the  legislature.  At  this  period,  having  travelled 
in  company  with  the  two  principal  speakers  of  the  campaign,  he 
had  become  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  was  invited  by 
the  latter  to  accompany  him  on  his  journey  to  Washington  after 
his  election  to  the  Presidency,  which  he  did ;  in  the  interim,  how- 
ever, going  to  Colorado,  in  1859,  to  write  up  the  new  gold  mines 
for  the  Cincinnati  Commercial.  He  was  one  of  the  passengers  in  the 
first  regular  stage  ever  run  across  the  plains  from  Leavenvvorth  to 
Denver.  Part  of  his  explorations  in  Colorado  were  made  in  the 
company  of  Horace  Greeley  and  the  late  Albert  D.  Richardson. 
Having  experienced  some  very  rough  and  dangerous  adventures 
in  the  winter  travel  through  eastern  Kansas,  he  next  appears  as  a 
reporter  at  the  National  Convention  at  Chicago  which  nominated 
Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  summer  of  1860.  Still  busy  with  his  pen, 
we  next  find  him  writing  a  series  of  letters  to  the  New  York 
Herald  on  the  traffic  of  the  plains  between  Mexico  and  Colorado. 

At  this  time    political    excitement    ran    high;    the    South   was 


HENRY     VILLARD.  313 

threatening;  the  business  men  of  the  North,  especially  the  mer- 
chants, were  anxious ;  the  timid  wavering ;  the  Free-Soilers  and 
Abolitionists  firm  and  defiant.  Mr.  Hudson,  then  managing-editor 
of  the  Herald,  engaged  his  Western  correspondent,  "  Villard"  to 
go  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  to  watch  Lincoln  and  the  politicians 
there,  get  at  the  inside  movements  for  favoring  the  new  cabinet, 
etc.  By  this  continued  use  of  the  nom  de  plume  of  Villard,  by 
which  Mr.  Hilgard  was  recognized  from  New  York  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  it  gradually  became  so  much  a  part  of  himself  that  it 
seemed  superfluous  to  bear  any  other,  and  thus  the  German  name 
of  Heinrich  Hilgard  was  exchanged  for  that  of  Henry  Villard. 
During  the  war  he  continued  to  act  as  correspondent  for  one  or 
more  papers. 

On  January  3d,  1866,  Mr.  Villard  married  Miss  Fanny,  the 
accomplished  daughter  of  the  noted  abolitionist,  William  Lloycl 
Garrison,  of  Boston.  In  July  of  the  same  year  he  went  to  Europe 
to  write  up  for  the  Chicago  Tribune  the  Austro-Prussian  war,  but 
it  was  ended  before  he  reached  there.  He  afterwards  visited 
Switzerland,  Paris  and  England,  in  the  latter  interviewing  the  late 
John  Stuart  Mill  in  the  interest  of  his  Chicago  paper.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  trip  to  Italy,  Avignon,  Vesuvius,  etc. ;  then  back  again  to 
the  United  States;  in  1870  returning  to  Europe  to  report  the 
Franco-Prussian  war  of  1870,  arriving  on  his  return  in  this  country 
in  February,  1871,  and  in  April  once  more  crossing  the  Atlantic. 
This  time  he  remained  abroad  four  years,  not  exclusively  engaged 
with  newspaper  correspondence. 

From  1870  to  1873  a  large  quantity  of  American  railroad  securi- 
ties had  been  sold  in  Germany,  and,  during  Mr.  Villard's  residence 
at  Wiesbaden,  he  negotiated  a  large  number  of  these,  which  led  to 
his  acquaintance  with  many  of  the  bankers  of  Frankfort  and 
Berlin.  After  the  financial  panic  of  1873,  and  the  failure  of  many 
of  the  American  railway  companies  to  pay  the  interest  on  their 
bonds,  committees  were  organized  in  financial  centres  of  Germany 
to  protect  the  interests  of  the  bondholders  there.  Mr.  Villard  was 


314  HENRY     VILLARD. 

asked  to  assist  them  by  his  knowledge  of  the  country  and  the 
mode  of  conducting  business  here ;  his  perfect  command  of  the 
language,  his  wide  acquaintance  with  leading  men  in  the  United 
States,  and  his  professional  connection  with  the  press  made  him 
one  of  the  best  agents  they  could  possibly  have  selected  to  aid 
them  in  securing  their  claims ;  and  it  was  in  the  interest  of  these 
bondholders  that  he  came  back  from  Europe  in  April,  1874.  An 
agent  of  the  Oregon  &  California  Railroad  had  been  to  Frankfort 
and  proposed  a  compromise  settlement  with  the  bondholders 
there;  but  this  company  had  made  default  on  its  first  mortgage 
bonds  in  the  summer  of  1873,  and  it  was  to  close  the  proposed 
contract  that  these  victims  desired  Mr.  Villard  to  act  for  them  in 
Oregon. 

This  may  be  taken  as  the  first  stepping-stone  which  eventually 
led  to  the  presidential  chair  of  the  great  transcontinental  railway 
recently  completed.  Going  west,  he  had  the  opportunity  of  learn- 
ing the  condition  of  many  railways,  and  the  country  through  which 
they  passed. 

In  1875  Mr.  Villard  was  appointed  Receiver  of  the  Kansas 
Pacific  Railroad,  he  representing  also  in  this  case  a  committee  of 
Frankfort  bondholders,  while  Mr.  C.  L.  Greeley,  of  St.  Louis, 
represented  the  American  creditors ;  but  a  disagreement  having 
arisen  between  the  two  receivers  in  1878  the  court  which  had 
appointed  Mr.  Greeley  removed  him.  The  old  board  of  directors 
were  anxious  that  an  alliance  should  be  made  with  the  Union 
Pacific,  then  largely  under  the  control  of  Jay  Gould.  This  move- 
ment Mr.  Villard  tried  in  vain  to  resist,  and  the  Kansas  Pacific 
was  soon  in  danger  of  being  utterly  absorbed  by  the  stronger 
company ;  but  he  stood  up  bravely  for  the  interests  of  the  German 
bondholders,  who  were  in  danger  of  being  utterly  sacrificed,  and 
he  appealed  to  the  courts,  and  then  he  was  again  confirmed  as 
sole  receiver.  The  bonds,  which  had  been  as  low  as  forty,  soon 
after  rose  to  above  par,  which  greatly  added  to  the  eclat  which  his 
successful  litigation  had  secured  him. 


IICXIiY     Vil.I.AIlI).  315 

At  the  end  of  this  legal  fight,  Mr.  Villard's  ambition  took  a  very 
definite  form,  and  this  was  to  create  a  great  northern  rival  to  the 
Union  and  Central  Pacific  roads ;  and  the  means  which  he  saw 
was  necessary  to  accomplish  this  was  to  unite  all  the  Northern 
transportation  lines,  whether  railways  or  steamship  lines,  under 
one  control ;  he,  naturally,  to  become  the  autocrat  of  this  new 
empire.  Not  very  much  was  accomplished  in  this  direction  until 
1879,  when  new  iron  steamers  replaced  the  old  worn-out  boats  of 
the  Oregon  line,  and  the  Oregon  and  California  Railroad  was 
somewhat  extended.  But  hardly  had  this  been  done,  when  oppo- 
sition boats  were  run,  and  the  rates  had  consequently  to  be  cut 
down.  The  European  bondholders  were  discouraged,  and  some 
of  Mr.  Villard's  German  friends  strongly  urged  him  to  make  a  new 
effort  to  dispose  of  bonds  in  the  United  States.  This  he  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  by  making  up  a  syndicate,  mainly  among  his  per- 
sonal friends,  to  buy  out  the  new  steamship  company.  The  next 
and  most  pressing,  need  was  to  make  the  long-delayed  direct  rail- 
road communication  with  the  East.  The  transportation  through 
the  Columbia  valley  at  this  time  was  in  the  hands  and  completely  un- 
der the  control  of  the  "Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company."  Mr. 
Villard  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  get  control  of  this  river  navi- 
gation. He  travelled  through  the  whole  of  the  country  traversed 
by  these  boats,  and  beyond,  through  the  Walla  Walla  region,  and 
being  thoroughly  satisfied  that  this  river  traffic  was  an  indispen- 
sable feeder  to  the  future  success  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  he 
entered  into  negotiations  with  Captain  Ainsworth,  and  succeeded 
in  buying  up  all  the  boats  on  the  Columbia.  He  had  six  months 
in  which  to  conclude  the  payments  on  this  purchase,  $2,000,000  of 
which  must  be  in  cash.  Mr.  Villard  naturally  turned  to  New  York 
as  the  money-centre  of  the  country ;  he  sought  out  the  Union 
Pacific  men,  offering  them  half  the  stock  of  the  Oregon  Steam 
Navigation  Company,  and  of  his  proposed  new  company,  "  The 
Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company."  His  object  was  to 
consolidate  the  Oregon  Steamship  Navigation  Company  with  the 
Oregon  Steamship  Company,  which  he  had  previously  bought. 


31 6  HENRY     VILLARD. 

In  three  weeks  he  raised  the  $2,000,000,  organized  the  new 
company  (the  "Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company"), 
which  was  incorporated  June  13th,  1879,  and  under  its  charter  is- 
sued $6,000,000  of  bonds,  and  $6,000,000  of  stock.  He  was  of 
course  elected  president  of  this  new  company.  He  sailed  for 
Europe  on  the  loth  of  July,  no  doubt  intending  to  place  considera- 
ble stock  among  his  German  friends  ;  and  on  his  return  in  Novem- 
ber was  met  with  the  pleasant  announcement  that  the  stock  of  the 
new  company  had  reached  ninety-five.  This  company  has  a  rec- 
ord of  remarkable  prosperity.  Commencing  under  the  Villard 
regime  four  years  ago,  with  net  earnings  of  about  $75,000  per 
annum,  it  now  approximates  to  $300,000  per  annum.  But  it 
ought  to  be  earning  something.  Some  $20,000,000  of  actual 
money  has  been  expended  in  perfecting  the  connections,  building 
five  hundred  miles  of  standard  gauge  road,  and  in  the  purchase  of 
collateral  property.  It  is  claimed  by  the  historian  of  this  company, 
that  it  is  the  only  railroad  and  navigation  company  in  the  United 
States,  which,  since  its  first  issue  of  bonds,  has  never  come  into 
the  market  to  borrow  a  dollar,  but  has  raised  all  its  capital  by  sell- 
ing its  stock  at  par. 

One  cause  of  Mr.  Villard's  success  in  these  large  operations,  and 
others  which  followed,  is  undoubtedly  to  be  attributed  to  the  care 
he  took  to  avoid  a  collision  of  interests  where  other  roads  were 
concerned,  acquiring  what  he  arrived  at  by  friendly  negotiation, 
if  possible,  rather  than  exciting  a  disastrous  rivalry  by  openly  de- 
fiant competition.  Thus,  in  the  spring  of  1880,  he  sought  several 
conferences  with  the  officers  of  the  Northern  Pacific  road,  of  which 
Mr.  Billings  was  then  president.  In  this  road  he  desired  to  obtain 
a  controlling  influence,  by  furnishing  to  it  the  funds  to  complete 
its  construction,  and  the  proposition  was  made  to  him,  that  he 
should  form  a  syndicate  of  his  European  and  American  friends  to 
raise  the  needed  money,  by  giving  first  mortgage  bonds  on  the 
Northern  Pacific.  The  inducement  to  the  Northern  Pacific  was  an 
independent  outlet  either  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia,  or 


HENRY     VILLARD.  3  I  7 

by  the  Cascade  branch  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  President  Billings  did 
not  fall  in  very  readily  with  the  idea  of  making  a  unity  of  interest 
between  the  Northern  Pacific  and  Mr.  Villard's  Railway  and  Navi- 
gation Company ;  although  the  latter  thought  he  could  raise  from 
$10,000,000  to  $20,000,000  among  his  friends  as  a  construction 
fund.  Baffled  in  his  direct  negotiations  with  President  Billings,  he- 
was  not  defeated.  There  was  money  enough  in  Wall  street,  he 
knew  that ;  how  to  get  hold  of  it  was  the  problem.  A  new  idea 
struck  him.  He  would  form  a  "  blind  pool,"  that  would  be  likely 
to  draw ;  but  first  he  must  secure  in  his  own  hands  a  controlling 
quantity  of  the  stock  of  both  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  and  the 
Oregon  Railroad  and  Navigation  Company  at  reasonable  rates, 
which  he  could  not  hope  to  do,  if  his  consolidation  scheme  was 
bruited  abroad.  Concealing  his  hand  through  trusty  agents,  he 
took  out  of  the  market  large  lines  of  both  these  stocks,  using  all 
his  private  means  and  credit  for  the  purpose,  during  several  weeks 
in  December,  1880,  and  January,  1881.  Having  laid  this  founda- 
tion, he  then  issued  a  private  circular  addressed  to  some  fifty  of 
his  financial  friends,  asking  them  to  subscribe  towards  a  fund  of 
$8,000,000,  to  which  he  would  contribute  largely  himself,  giving 
no  other  explanation  of  what  use  it  was  to  be  applied  to,  than  the 
vague  statement,  that  it  was  "to  lay  the  foundation  of  an  enter- 
prise," to  be  divulged  hereafter.  More  than  a  dozen  signatures 
for  large  sums  were  subscribed  to  this  blind  object  before  the  circu- 
lar had  even  reached  some  to  whom  it  was  addressed ;  and  as  soon 
as  it  became  known  that  such  a  paper  was  in  existence,  there  com- 
menced a  rush  for  the  chance  to  subscribe.  The  halo  of  mystery 
which  surrounded  the  project  appeared  to  attract  the  speculators ; 
in  less  than  twenty-four  hours  double  the  amount  of  money  was 
offered  that  had  been  called  for.  The  plan  had  proved  more  than 
a  success,  it  was  a  triumph.  When  a  division  of  the  shares  was 
made,  the  allotments  proved  most  unsatisfactory,  each  one  think- 
ing he  had  not  enough,  and  wanted  more ;  some  very  angry  pro- 
tests were  made,  and  subscriptions  sold  were  at  a  premium,  com- 


31 8  HENRY     VILLARD. 

mencing  at  twenty-five  per  cent,  and  running  up  to  fifty,  in  some 
instances  even  more.  The  money  subscribed  was  to  be  paid  in 
three  instalments,  between  February  i5th  and  April  2d.  To  add 
to  the  wonder,  all  this  furore  to  get  rid  of  money  took  place  under 
the  condition  of  a  very  stringent  money  market. 

It  was  not  until  the  24th  of  June,  1881,  that  any  of  these  people 
knew  what  they  had  paid  their  money  for ;  on  that  day  a  meeting 
of  the  subscribers  was  held  in  Mr.  Villard's  office,  when,  for  the 
first  time,  he  declared  the  object  of  the  fund ;  namely,  the  consoli- 
dation of  all  the  transportation  interests  between  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior  and  Puget  Sound.  The  explanation  was  well  received, 
and  a  call  for  $12,000,000  more  immediately  responded  to;  the 
conditions  being  seven  payments  between  July  6th,  1881,  and  April 
ist,  1882,  making  a  total  raised  by  Mr.  Villard  of  $20,000,000.  At 
the  close  of  this  meeting  a  new  company  was  organized,  embracing 
all  the  objects  considered  under  the  name  of  the  "  Oregon  and 
Trans-Continental  Company." 

Following  this  action  Mr.  Villard  asked  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  a  representation  in  the  board  of  direction  ;  this 
alarmed  President  Billings,  who  evidently  considered  it  the  enter- 
ing wedge  to  the  attainment  of  ultimate  control  of  the  road,  and 
thereupon  began  to  divide  the  undistributed  stock  among  the  old 
stockholders;  upon  learning  this  Mr.  Villard  procured  an  injunc- 
tion ;  some  other  litigation  followed,  occupying  several  weeks, 
when  a  compromise  was  effected :  two  directors  and  a  vice-presi- 
dent being  appointed  from  among  Mr.  Villard's  friends,  and  sub- 
sequently, at  a  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Northern  Pa- 
cific Railroad,  held  on  September  15,  1881,  under  the  new  board, 
Henry  Villard  was  elected  President.  From  that  time  forward  all 
his  efforts  have  been  directed  to  the  completion  of  the  main  road, 
and  the  acquirement  of  all  the  feeders  to  it  which  could  possibly 
be  secured. 

"  One  sows  and  another  reaps."  Jay  Cooke's  grand  project  of 
creating  a  trans-continental  highway  over  land  and  water  from  the 


HENRY     VILLARD. 


319 


gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  was  happily 
consummated  during  the  summer  of  1883  under  the  presidency  of 
Mr.  Villard.  Work  was  practically  finished  by  the  union  of  the  rails 
on  the  22d  of  August;  but,  in  anticipation  of  this  event,  the  presi- 
dent had  invited  a  large  number  of  persons  from  Germany,  Eng- 
land, and  various  parts  of  the  United  States,  with  a  corps  of  fifty 
reporters  of  the  leading  newspapers,  to  be  present  at  a  public 
ceremony  of  "  driving  the  last  spike  " — a  golden  one — as  well  as  to 
travel  over  the  road,  partaking  of  a  great  banquet  at  St.  Paul's, 
Minnesota,  and  other  entertainments  connected  with  the  trip.  At 
the  grand  dinner,  on  this  occasion,  covers  were  laid  for  six  hundred 
and  twenty-five  persons.  The  celebration  was  a  grand  gala-day 
for  St.  Paul's  and  the  neighboring  city  of  Minneapolis  ;  decorations, 
processions,  flags,  salvos  of  artillery,  the  presence  of  President 
Arthur,  and  perfect  weather,  all  combined  to  make  the  occasion 
one  to  be  long  remembered  by  those  who  participated  in  the  fes- 
tivities :  the  ceremony  of  driving  the  golden  spike  took  place  on 
the  8th  of  September,  the  precise  point  being  a  few  miles  west  of 
Mullan  Tunnel,  called  Gold  Creek,  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
main  divide  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  audience  numbered  at  least  three  thousand  persons,  one 
evidence  that  the  country  is  not  exactly  a  wilderness,  over  two 
thousand  of  those  present  being  settlers  on  the  line  of  the  road. 
All  the  visitors  who  had  spoken  have  expressed  their  opinion  that 
there  is  a  great  future  for  the  Northern  Pacific  road.  Thus  has 
Mr.  Villard  the  great  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  object  of  his  life 
happily  accomplished.  His  mode  of  celebrating  the  event  was  as 
unique  as  expensive :  the  cost  of  bringing  so  many  guests  from 
Europe  (about  seventy),  entertaining  them  for  weeks,  and  return- 
ing them  to  their  homes,  is  a  new  departure  in  the  way  of  cele- 
brating a  completed  railroad. 

Mr.  Villard  was  of  course  the  central  figure  in  all  this  lengthened 
jubilation.  The  community  at  St.  Paul's,  and  its  twin  sister  Min- 
neapolis, could  scarcely  devise  ways  enough  by  which  to  show 


320  HENRY     VILLARD. 

their  joy  at  the  completion  of  the  road  and  their  gratitude  to  Mr. 
Villard. 

Within  a  comparatively  short  time  after  this  event,  Mr.  Villard 
failed  through  the  decline  of  Northern  Pacific  stock,  and  retired 
from  the  presidency  of  the  road.  His  failure  was  a  disastrous 
one,  compelling  the  relinquishment  of  all  his  property,  including 
his  costly  city  residence  in  New  York,  not  entirely  completed  at 
the  time.  That  he  will  retrieve  his  fortunes  and  again  become  a 
magnate  of  Wall  street  is  not  doubted  by  those  who  know  the 
resources  of  the  man. 


FRANK    LESLIE 


FRANK   LESLIE. 

OF  the  numerous  men  who  have  accumulated  large  fortunes, 
and  who  may  have  been  locally  eminent  in  social  and  other 
spheres,  whom  we  have  brought  together  in  this  volume,  probably 
not  one  of  them  has  been  known  to  so  many  persons,  in  all 
classes  of  society,  as  Frank  Leslie.  Other  men  have  been  familiar 
figures  in  Wall  street,  in  church  circles,  among  art  connoisseurs, 
in  mining  and  railroad  interests,  and  other  specialties  of  oun  social 
organization ;  but  who,  like  Frank  Leslie,  came  to  see  us  every 
week,  with  pleasant  pictures  and  kindly  words?  who  provided 
each  member  of  the  family  with  some  periodical  just  suited  to  the 
taste,  and  for  whom  did  the  children  look  with  anxious  eyes  when 
the  Boys'  and  Girls  Weekly  was  due,  or  the  Chatterbox  was  about 
to  make  its  appearance  ?  Frank  Leslie's  name  was  a  household 
word  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of  homes,  not  only  in  this  country, 
but  almost  as  much  so  in  England  and  Germany — and  indeed,  as 
an  artist,  throughout  .the  civilized  world  ;  and  we  may  say  beyond, 
for  numbers  of  his  illustrated  newspaper  have  been  carried  from 
the  Arctic  to  the  Tropics ;  have  amazed  the  denizens  of  Africa, 
and  excited  the  wonder  of  Indian  tribes  from  the  Ganges  to  the 
Amazon,  wherever  travellers  have  dropped  a  copy  in  their  wan- 
derings. Certainly  there  are  few  people  in  the  United  States  who 
did  not  express  word  of  regret  when  the  news  was  flashed  over 
the  wires  that  the  active  brain  and  skillful  hand  of  Frank  Leslie 
were  stilled  in  death. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  native  of  England,  born  in  the 
enterprising  little  seaport  of  Ipswich  in  Suffolk,  in  1821,  of  a  re- 
spectable family  of  the  name  of  Carter.  His  father,  Joseph  Carter, 
was  an  extensive  glove  manufacturer;  and  after  the  usual  amount 
21  (321) 


322  FRANK     LESLIE. 

of  schooling  commonly  enjoyed  by  the  lads  in  his  class  of  life,  the 
father  naturally  wished  that  his  son  should  learn  the  business 
with  which  he  was  himself  identified,  and  Henry,  for  so  was  "  Our 
Frank  "  then  called,  was  placed,  much  against  his  will,  to  the  busi- 
ness of  glove-making ;  but,  like  many  other  boys  who  have  been 
born  with  poetic  instinct,  which  sometimes  works  itself  out  on  can- 
vas and  sometimes  in  verse,  or,  as  in  this  case,  with  a  pencil  and 
implements  of  the  graver,  Henry  had  already  acquired  a  certain, 
though  limited  and  partly  surreptitious,  fame  as  an  artist.  Even 
while  at  school  he  had  filled  every  spare  moment  with  sketches ; 
he  had  watched,  as  opportunity  offered,  the  skilled  workman  in 
various  trades,  which  assimilated  with  his  cast  of  mind :  braziers, 
ornamental  work,  wood-turners,  silversmiths  and  jewelers ;  he 
seems  to  have  had,  at  this  period,  no  opportunity  to  observe  either 
printers  or  painters  ;  but  when  only  thirteen,  he  drew  and  engraved 
the  somewhat  complicated  and  elaborate  coat  of  arms  affixed  to 
the  Ipswich  town-hall,  in  such  a  correct  and  spirited  manner,  that 
his  school-master  was  much  impressed  with  the  ability  displayed^ 
even  venturing  to  prophesy  for  him  at  that  early  date  a  brilliant 
future,  should  he  dedicate  himself  to  art.  But  of  this  his  father 
would  not  hear,  and  thinking  perhaps  to  remove  him  from  sym- 
pathizing friends  and  bad  advice,  he  determined  to  send  him  to 
London,  placing  him  with  an  uncle  who  was  also  in  the  glove  trade 
with  the  intention  that  the  incipient  artist  should  finally  settle  down 
to  that  very  useful  but  prosaic  business.  But  as  love  laughs  at 
locksmiths  so  does  genius  spurn  the  metes  and  bounds  prescribed 
by  parents  and  guardians.  Young  Henry  Carter  at  his  uncle's  in 
London,  suddenly  found  all  his  hopes  facilitated  in  that  great  city ; 
here,  in  his  evenings  and  leisure  hours,  he  could  consult  not  only 
books,  but  draftsmen  and  practical  workmen  in  his  chosen  art  of 
wood-engraving,  and  though  still  working  secretly  to  avoid  a  too 
early  eclairdssement  with  his  uncle,  he  soon  sought  and  found  a 
sale  for  his  drawings  and  engravings,  which,  for  the  sake  of  pre- 
serving his  secret,  he  offered  under  the  name  of  Frank  Leslie,  a 


FRANK     LESLIE.  323 

name  which  was  hereafter  to  become  identified  in  England  with 
the  Illustrated  London  News,  and  which  proved  his  first  pass- 
port to  recognition  and  success  in  this  country.  Having  finally 
abandoned  the  glove  business  he  was  offered  the  charge  of  the 
engraving  department  on  the  above-named  paper,  successfully 
competing  with  those  veteran  artists,  Linton  and  Landell,  and  here 
he  had  an  opportunity  of  increasing  his  own  technical  knowledge 
and  becoming  acquainted  with  the  best  processes  of  printing  then 
in  use.  Fortunately  for  the  success  of  his  subsequent  career, 
Frank  Leslie  did  not  limit  his  observations  to  the  engraving-room, 
or  even  to  the  printing  of  engravings  merely,  but  used  this  posi- 
tion to  become  thoroughly  initiated  in  all  the  arcana  of  the  news- 
paper business :  in  type  composition,  pictorial  effects,  the  making 
up  of  forms,  proof-reading,  etc. ;  nothing  escaped  him  which  had 
any  bearing  upon  the  success  of  a  publication. 

In  1848,  when  Henry  Carter  was  about  twenty-seven  years  of 
age,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  come  to  this  country,  not  as  so  many 
others  do,  with  a  vague  general  idea  of  improving  his  position,  or 
imagining  the  United  States  to  be  El  Dorado  to  all  comers:  he 
had  conceived  the  definite  idea  of  starting  here  an  illustrated  paper 
somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the  Illustrated  London  News. 
His  plans  were  as  well  matured  in  his  mind  as  they  could  well  be, 
minus  the  capital  to  carry  them  out ;  he  meant  to  be  his  own  pro- 
prietor, but  this  was  impossible  at  once ;  he  had  to  feel  his  way, 
and  on  his  first  essay  at  obtaining  employment  he  found  himself 
embarrassed  with  his  name.  To  every  one  here  Henry  Carter 
was  a  stranger,  but  among  the  artists  on  wood  and  engravers  he 
soon  found  men  who  recognized  the  work  and  the  signature  of 
"  Frank  Leslie,"  of  the  Illustrated  London  Neivs.  A  happy 
thought  struck  him  :  "  Why  not  adopt  this  name  which  was  already 
known  to  his  fellow-artists,  and  to  at  least  a  portion  of  the  reading 
public?"  Under  this  name  he  had  struggled  through  his  artistic 
youth  into  recognition  as  an  able  workman ;  he  had  already  cast 
off  the  traditions  of  his  family  ;  Carter  was  a  good  name:  he  had  no 


•534  FRANK     LESLIE. 

reason  to  be  ashamed  of  it,  but  it  did  him  no  good  here ;  it  was 
rather  a  drag-anchor,  viewed  in  a  business  aspect.  This  resolve 
was  taken;  he  would  henceforth  assume  his  nom-de-crayon  as  his 
only  and  legal  cognomen;  it  was  a  happy  inspiration,  an  augury 
of  success  ;  and  that  name,  authorized  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature, 
he  kept  unsullied  through  good  and  evil  report;  nor  did  it  die 
with  him,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

His  first  regular  engagement  in  the  United  States  was  made 
with  Mr.  Gleason,  of  Boston,  the  publisher  of  Gleasori s  Pictorial, 
in  1851.  At  this  time  the  wood-engravers'  art  in  this  country  had 
not  attained  to  anything  like  its  present  excellence.  For  a  public 
citizen  to  be  handed  down  to  posterity  in  those  days  in  a  wood- 
cut, might  almost  have  been  considered  libellous ;  nor  in  other 
branches  of  the  art  was  it  comparable  to  the  work  of  the  present 
day,  and  yet  the  failure  was  not  so  much  with  the  engravers  as 
with  the  printers  ;  the  art  of  overlaying  was  not  then  practised  here, 
and  Mr.  Leslie  was  the  first  to  introduce  it  into  Mr.  Gleason's  es- 
tablishment. (This  overlaying  was  a  process,  by  which  the  proper 
effects  of  light  and  shade  were  brought  out  in  the  picture.)  Mr. 
Leslie  did  not  remain  over  two  or  three  years  in  Boston.  About 
this  time  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum,  in  connection  with  Messrs.  Beach,  had 
started  the  Illustrated  Ntrivs,  in  New  York,  and  having  secured 
the  well-known  literateur,  Mr.  Rufus  W.  Griswold  and  "Hans 
Breitmann  "  (C.  G.  Leland)  as  the  editors,  they  engaged  Mr.  Les- 
lie to  conduct  the  art  department.  Mr.  Barnum  with  his  usual 
shrewdness  soon  discovered  the  superior  business  talent  of  this 
head  of  his  art  room,  and  proposed  to  his  associates  to  add  $20,000 
to  his  interest  in  the  paper,  on  the  condition  that  Mr.  Leslie  should 
be  appointed  business  manager;  had  this  proposal  been  accepted 
the  News  might  have  been  alive  to-day;  as  it  was  rejected,  the 
paper  languished  a  few  months  longer  and  then  ceased  to  appear. 

Frank  Leslie  had  now  been  in  this  country  six  years,  and  was 
anxious  to  become  his  own  proprietor.  His  capital  was  yet 
scarcely  commensurate  with  the  undertaking,  but  in  1854  he  com- 


I  RANK     LESLIE.  325 

menced  the  publication  of  the  Gazette  of  Fashion,  which  title  was 
subsequently  exchanged  for  that  of  Frank  Leslies  Magazine. 
Later  on  he  brought  out  and  published  the  New  York  Journal. 
He  had  a  reasonable  measure  of  success  with  both  of  these,  but 
he  was  still  hampered  with  insufficient  capital,  and  he  was  also  dis- 
satisfied with  the  style  of  those  publications.  His  model  was  the 
Illustrated  London  News,  and  he  wanted  to  establish  a  paper  of 
neat  form  and  merit.  Vainly  he  sought  to  procure  a  partner  in 
the  enterprise.  At  that  time  there  seemed  no  one  in  New  York 
willing  to  risk  his  money  in  such  a  venture.  But,  determined  to 
take  the  risk,  he  at  last  decided  to  start  alone,  and  on  the  I4th  of 
December,  1855,  the  first  number  of  Frank  Leslies  Illustrated 
Newspaper  appeared ;  and,  in  spite  of  all  difficulties,  he  persevered. 
Many  times  during  the  early  period  of  its  existence  it  was  on  the 
point  of  collapse,  for,  though  it  sold  tolerably  well,  and  he  had  a 
fair  list  of  subscribers,  the  public  had  not  then  learned  to  look 
upon  illustrated  papers  as  one  of  the  necessities  of  life;  but  to  the 
majority  they  were  still  a  luxury,  to  be  bought  only  occasionally. 
Hence  it  was  up-hill  work  to  put  the  paper  upon  a  firm  foundation. 
The  lack  of  sufficient  capital  to  start  would  eventually  have  caused 
the  failure  of  the  enterprise  had  not  Mr.  Leslie  found  at  last  one 
good,  reliable  friend,  who  helped  him  over  many  financial  emergen- 
cies. Sometimes,  when  the  week  came  round,  the  proprietor  found 
it  impossible  to  pay  his  hands  without  asking  the  assistance  of  this 
friend ;  but  still,  so  great  was  his  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of 
his  enterprise,  that,  while  he  could  manage  to  exist,  he  could  not 
bring  his  mind  to  voluntarily  abandon  it,  and  his  friend's  faith  in 
him  was  such  that  it  was  not  until  he  had  been  obliged  to  borrow 
money  for  the  payment  of  his  hands  three  weeks  in  succession 
that  he  mildly  hinted  something  about  the  inexpediency  of  pro- 
longing the  struggle.  But  just  at  this  juncture,  the  darkest  hour 
before  the  dawn,  an  event  took  place  in  New  York  the  illustration 
of  which  promptly  and  accurately  brought  before  the  public  was 
the  turning-point  in  the  fate  of  Frank  Leslie  s  Illustrated  News- 


326  FRANK     LESLIE. 

paper.  This  tragical  event,  which  caused  such  great  excitement 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  indeed  throughout  the  country,  was 
the  murder  of  the  well-known  dentist,  Dr.  Harvey  Burdell,  the 
crime  being  supposed  to  have  been  perpetrated  by  a  woman. 

The  graphic  illustrations  of  this  tragedy  caused  the  paper  to  be 
in  great  demand ;  the  sales  were  so  large  that  several  editions  of 
the  paper  had  to  be  printed,  and  the  profits  flowing  in  enabled 
Mr.  Leslie  to  cancel  his  most  pressing  debts,  while  it  put  new  life 
into  the  whole  enterprise,  as  many  who  had  bought  copies  of 
the  paper  became  permanent  subscribers.  Hitherto  what  illus- 
trated periodicals  had  existed  in  this  country  had  been  mainly  de- 
voted to  publishing  reprints  of  English  plates,  or  cuts,  illustrative 
of  travels  in  distant  countries,  while  the  distinct  aim  of  Mr.  Leslie 
was  to  show,  week  by  week,  the  current  events  of  the  time.  The 
extra  expense  and  exertion  necessary  to  secure  prompt  and  cor- 
rect delineations  of  scenes  distant,  ofttimes  hundreds  of  miles, 
was  of  course  very  great,  but  the  novelty  proved  attractive,  and 
every  notable 'event  portrayed  by  the  facile  engravers  of  Leslie's 
corps  of  workers  added  to  the  reputation  of  the  paper.  The 
inauguration  of  President  Buchanan  marks  with  precision  the 
period  when  current  illustration  had  become  a  fixed  fact  in  the  his- 
tory of  wood-engraving  in  the  United  States,  this  being  the  first 
time  in  which  the  scenes  enacted  in  Washington  on  similar  august 
occasions  had  been  reproduced  after  the  lapse  of  only  a  few  days 
in  a  New  York  weekly. 

Frank  Leslie  was  now  on  the  full  tide  of  success ;  his  main 
object  was  accomplished.  His  paper  was  a  very  fair  counterpart 
of  the  Illustrated  London  JVews,  his  original  model,  while,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  genius  of  his  adopted  country,  he  had  infused 
into  it  an  amount  of  progressive  enterprise  not  then  attained  by 
his  English  prototype.  But  his  ambition  was  not  satisfied ;  his 
ideas  grew  with  success,  and,  realizing  that  pictures  alone,  or  with 
the  slight  setting  of  description  which  his  News  afforded,  could 
not  interest  all  classes  of  readers,  he  projected  a  new  publication, 


FKANK     LESLIE.  327 

of  a  more  intellectual  cast,  and  which  he  called  the  Chimney  Corner. 
This  was  also  a  weekly,  and  was  filled  with  reading  matter  suited 
to  both  old  and  young.  But  this  did  not  suffice ;  his  appetite  for 
journalism  appeared  to  grow  with  what  it  fed  on,  and  soon  after 
the  children  were  specially  catered  for  by  the  issue  of  the  Boys 
and  Girls'  Weekly.  Next  came  Pleasant  Hours ;  then  a  monthly, 
the  Ladies  Journal,  subsequently  called  the  Ladies  Magazine. 
Then  followed  three  more  monthlies  and  another  weekly — the 
Popular  Monthly,  the  Sunday  Magazine,  the  Chatterbox  and  the 
Budget  of  Wit.  The  Sunday  Magazine  was  somewhat  different 
in  character  from  the  others,  and  was  intended  to  meet  the  wants 
of 'those  who  were  more  or  less  scrupulous  as  to  secular  reading 
on  Sunday. 

It  would  seem  now  as  if  all  classes  had  been  provided  for,  and 
that  Mr.  Leslie  might  well  rest  content  with  the  issue  of  eleven 
different  periodicals,  all  more  or  less  illustrated.  But  there  was 
still  one  great  project  before  him.  New  York  contains  a  large 
foreign  population,  and  among  these  are  many  thousands  of  Ger- 
mans, while  in  some  of  the  Western  States  whole  townships  are 
composed  of  the  same  nationality.  The  Germans  are  a  reading 
people ;  nearly  all  have  been  well  instructed  to  a  certain  extent  in 
their  native  land.  To  import  reading  matter,  either  books  or 
magazines,  is  a  costly  process  for  the  mass  of  the  emigrants,  even 
of  the  most  thrifty  class.  Mr.  Leslie  determined  to  furnish  this 
portion  of  our  foreign  residents  with  a  serial  in  their  own  lan- 
guage— printed  with  their  own  national  type,  and  containing  essen- 
tially the  same  matter  and  the  same  illustrations  as  the  Illustrated 
Newspaper.  This  weekly,  the  Ilhistrite  Zeitung,  is  exceedingly 
well  patronized,  and  circulates  very  largely  in  New  York,  Cincin- 
nati, Chicago,  San  Francisco,  Texas,  and  wherever  the  Germans  are 
settled  in  any  considerable  numbers,  and  is  to  them  a  very  pleasing 
substitute  for  the  popular  illustrated  Leipsic- magazine,  Uber  Land 
und  Meer.  This  Illustrite  Zeitung  we  consider  a  very  useful  in- 
strument for  Americanizing  the  ideas  of  German  emigrants,  en- 


•528  FRANK     LESLIE. 

abling  them  from  their  first  entrance  into  the  country  to  become 
familiarized  with  our  current  history,  told  in  their  own  tongue  and 
illustrated  as  fully  as  the  English  edition.  Whether  Mr.  Leslie 
had  any  such  patriotic  object  in  view  we  know  not ;  perhaps  like 
some  other  noble  workers,  "  he  builded  better  than  he  knew." 

One  of  the  reasons  why  Frank  Leslie  was  enabled  to  produce 
truthful  illustrations  of  accidents,  tragedies,  festivals,  or  whatever 
interested  the  public,  sometimes  within  twenty-four  hours  of  their 
occurrence — a  rapidity  which  was  the  cause  of  frequent  astonish- 
ment and  much  ignorant  criticism — was  the  system  which  he  intro- 
duced into  this  country  of  dividing  the  block  to  be  worked  upon. 
Instead  of  one  man  being  set  to  engrave  a  whole  picture,  the 
block  which  was  to  eventually  form  it  was  divided  into  as  many 
sections  as  the  necessity  of  the  case  required,  and  fifte.en  or  even 
forty  men  worked  simultaneously  on  different  portions;  these,  of 
course,  being  so  accurately  fitted  as  to  defy  detection  in  the  printed 
copy. 

Another  reason  for  his  prompt  reproduction  of  recent  scenes 
was  his  prescience  of  what  was  to  come.  He  always  had  on 
hand  the  likeness  of  eminent  persons,  and  in  any  event  which 
could  be  foreseen,  as  the  arrival  of  distinguished  guests,  the  cele- 
bration of  a  festival  or  holiday,  etc.,  he  would  send  his  artists  weeks 
or  days  in  advance,  to  make  sketches  of  the  surrounding  scenery 
of  public  halls,  of  shipping,  or  any  details  that  it  was  possible  to 
procure  before  the  time  of  need.  In  one  case  we  remember,  in 
which  a  large  display  of  bunting  was  probable  in  San  Francisco,  he 
telegraphed  to  that  city  on  the  day  of  festivity  to  know  "  which 
way  the  wind  was  blowing,"  so  as  not  to  commit  the  error  of  pub- 
lishing a  picture  with  the  flags  streaming  from  the  wrong  quarter 
of  the  compass,  as  may  occasionally  be  seen  in  hastily  drawn  illus- 
trations. 

With  all  these  enterprises  on  his  hands,  Mr.  Leslie  added  the 
publication  of  books,  chiefly  the  reprint  of  novels  and  travels  taken 
from  his  own  periodicals.  The  "  Historical  Register  of  the  Cen- 


FRANK     LESLIE.  329 

tennial  Exhibition  "  was  of  another  nature,  and,  considering  the 
statistical  character  of  the  work,  was  a  marvel  of  accuracy,  and 
remains  to-day  a  valuable  book  of  reference. 

In  1867  Mr.  Leslie  was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  represent 
the  State  of  New  York  at  the  Paris  Exposition,  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Fine  Arts.  On  this  occasion  he  received  two  medals ; 
one  of  gold,  presented  by  the  emperor  in  person,  on  behalf  of  the 
government  "  pour  services  rendus,"  and  the  other  from  the  Im- 
perial Commission  as  a  souvenir  of  the  exposition.  Nine  years 
later,  Mr.  Leslie  was  selected  for  similar  service  to  attend  the 
Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  and  of  this  commission 
from'  the  State  of  New  York  he  was  elected  president.  These 
duties  were  faithfully  performed,  and  in  a  spirit  of  justice  and  fair- 
ness, which  left  no  ground  for  complaint,  even  with  disappointed 
exhibitors. 

But  like  other  daring  adventurers,  Mr.  Leslie  met  with  some 
reverses,  and  was  unfortunate  in  land  speculations.  His  expenses 
were  enormous.  Up  to  the  year  1877,  when  he  made  an  assign- 
ment for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors,  he  had  paid  to  one  firm  in 
Massachusetts  over  $3,000,000  for  white  paper  alone.  The  terms 
of  this  assignment  were  somewhat  peculiar,  and  very  favorable  to 
Mr.  Leslie,  whose  creditors  did  not  cease  to  be  friends  when  he 
fell  into  temporary  embarrassment.  The  assignee  in  this  case  was 
Mr.  I.  W.  England,  a  gentleman  of  the  strictest  probity,  as  well  as 
of  superior  business  capacity.  The  terms  of  the  agreement  were, 
that  Mr.  Leslie  should  continue  the  management  of  his  business, 
the  property  to  be  vested  in  trustees  for  the  space  of  three  years, 
when  it  should  revert  to  the  veteran  publisher;  in  the  meantime 
the  creditors  were  to  receive  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  net  profits 
and  Mr.  Leslie  twenty  per  cent.  Mr.  Leslie's  death,  which  occurred 
in  January,  1880,  led  to  some  complications  as  to  the  proper  legal 
construction  of  this  agreement,  but  in  the  end,  under  a  specific 
judicial  interpretation,  it  was  carried  out,  Mrs.  Leslie  as  sole  leg- 
atee liquidating  the  indebtedness  remaining  unpaid  upon  the 
confirmation  of  her  title  to  the  estate. 


33O  FRANK     LESLIE. 

In  all  his  business  relations,  as  well  as  in  social  life,  Mr.  Leslie 
was  always  the  generous,  genial  sympathizer ;  his  personal  mag- 
netism was  very  great ;  his  employes  were  devoted  to  him,  and  he 
took  a  lively  interest  in  all  that  concerned  their  welfare  ;  even  when 
they  left  his  employment  for  other  spheres  he  took  pride  and 
pleasure  in  hearing  of  their  success.  He  was  a  member  of  sev- 
eral of  the  leading  clubs  in  New  York — the  Manhattan,  Jockey,  and 
Lotus.  He  was  also  a  Mason  of  high  rank,  and  associated  with 
the  Holland  Lodge,  one  of  the  most  select  in  the  city.  But  home 
life  was  more  appreciated  by  him  than  club  life  ;  both  in  his  elegant 
residence  on  Fifth  avenue,  but  more  especially  at  his  lovely  es- 
tate at  Saratoga,  his  hospitality  was  wide  and  generous.  This 
property,  lying  on  the  easterly  side  of  Saratoga  Lake,  is  consid- 
ered by  travelled  observers  to  equal  in  beauty  any  of  the  most 
famous  lakes  in  Europe  ;  it  comprises  a  stretch  of  some  two  miles, 
and  if  divided  would  offer  a  number  of  the  most  attractive  build- 
ing sites  to  be  found  in  that  vicinity.  It  was  in  this  charming  re- 
treat that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leslie  entertained  Dom  Pedro,  the  Em- 
peror of  Brazil,  when  he  made  his  flying  visit  to  this  country. 

His  love  of  nature  was  intense,  and  he  was  never  happier  than 
when  conducting  some  guest  over  the  Saratoga  estate,  and  to  his 
favorite  point  of  view  overlooking  Lake  Lonely,  pointing  out  the 
beauties  of  the  landscape,  with  all  the  minutiae  of  which  he  was 
familiar:  not  a  beautiful  tree,  form,  or  simple  flower  escaped  his 
observation.  His  love  of  nature  extended  to  that  of  animals :  he 
was  a  friend  of  Mr.  Bergh,  the  great  champion  of  the  protection 
of  animals,  and  in  this  connection  our  readers  will  recall  the  great 
excitement  which  was  produced  when  "  Frank  Leslie's "  paper 
came  out  with  a  series  of  illustrations  delineating  the  horrors  of 
the  "  swill-fed  cattle,"  and  the  inhumanity  exercised  upon  the  poor 
animals,  with  the  necessary  result  of  poisonous  milk  being  intro- 
duced into  thousands  of  families.  In  this  way  he  assisted  in  intro- 
4pcing  one  of  the  most  pressing  sanitary  reforms  that  has  concen- 
trated public  attention  for  years.  Indeed,  pictorial  illustration  is 


FRANK     LESLIE. 


331 


one  of  the  most  potent  influences  that  can  be  brought  to  bear  on 
reforms  in  which  the  public  must  participate  to  make  them 
effectual. 

Mr.  Leslie  had  been  married  in  early  life,  but  the  connection 
proved  uncongenial,  and  a  legal  separation  was  effected  in  1859. 
It  was  the  two  sons  of  this  marriage  who  contested  his  will  unsuc- 
cessfully, as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

Mr.  Leslie's  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Mariam  Florence  Follin,  a 
woman  remarkable  for  culture,  ability,  and  true  womanly  refine- 
ment, combined  with  an  extraordinary  capacity  for  business.  She 
had  been  an  author  and  a  writer  for  magazines  from  early  youth, 
was  a  fine  linguist,  and  was  in  every  way  fitted  to  understand  and 
aid  her  husband's  projects.  By  the  "  will  "  all  the  business  inter- 
ests and  the  Saratoga  property  were  bequeathed  to  the  widow. 
Mr.  Leslie  knew  her  great  abilities,  and  appreciated  them.  He 
knew  that  she  could  fill  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  great  estab- 
lishment, and  he  asked  her  to  do  it.  The  better  to  carry  out  his 
desire  that  all  his  publications  should  go  on,  without  interruption 
or  embarrassment,  he  made  of  her  the  singular,  so  far  as  we  know 
the  unique,  request  that  she  should  after  his  decease  drop  the 
name  of  "  Mariam  Florence,"  and  under  legal  authorization  adopt 
that  of  "  Frank :  "  this  she  did  by  procuring  an  order  to  that  effect 
from  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  soon  after  the  decease  of  Mr. 
Leslie.  It  was  Mr.  Leslie's  will,  as  it  was  also  his  widow's  interest, 
that  she  should  carry  out  the  agreement  made  with  his  creditors. 
Of  course,  when  these  latter  found  the  whole  business  transferred 
to  a  woman,  some  of  them  endeavored  to  withdraw  from  their  part 
of  the  agreement,  no  doubt  imagining  that  she  would  fail  in  hers ; 
but  they  mistook  the  character  of  Mrs.  Leslie.  Her  step-son, 
Henry,  also  endeavored  to  undermine  her  business  by  calling  him- 
self Frank  Leslie,  and  together  with  his  brother  Alfred  made  every 
effort  to  set  aside  the  will  under  the  usual  plea  of  "undue  influ- 
ence "  upon  and  "  incapacity  of  the  testator ;  "  but  conclusive  evi- 
dence was  introduced  from  eminent  physicians  and  lawyers  show- 


332  FRANK     LESLIE. 

ing  that  these  were  utterly  baseless,  and  the  woman  whom  he  had 
trusted  in  life  he  believed  could  also  be  trusted  to  carry  out  his 
wishes  after  his  death.  The  will  was  sustained  ;  but  at  just  about 
this  time  a  payment  of  $50,000  was  due  the  creditors,  and  Mrs- 
Leslie  had  neither  the  means  of  meeting  it  nor  any  available  prop- 
erty on  which  to  raise  a  loan,  for  Mr.  Leslie's  estate  was  yet  in  the 
hands  of  the  assignee.  It  shows  with  what  confidence  she  had 
been  able  to  inspire  her  friends  when  at  this  critical  juncture  a  lad 
in  her  office,  unsolicited  by  her,  took  upon  himself  to  try  and  raise 
this  money,  not  from  business  men  or  merchants,  but  from  a  lady 
of  wealth  residing  in  Brooklyn — Mrs.  T.  K.  Smith.  To  her  the 
youth  described  the  state  of  affairs,  and,  undoubtedly,  also  the  ex- 
ceptional ability  and  business  integrity  of  Mrs.  Leslie.  The  latter 
was  personally  unknown  to  Mrs.  Smith,  though  this  lady  had  fol- 
lowed the  story  of  the  contested  will  intelligently,  and  perceived 
that  here  was  an  opportunity  for  one  woman  to  help  another  in  a 
way  which  seldom  .occurs.  She  improved  the  opportunity.  She 
advanced  the  $50,000,  after  calling  to  see  Mrs.  Leslie  and  arrang- 
ing for  the  repayment  in  instalments  of  $5,000  at  intervals  of  six 
months.  This  notable  interview  took  place  on  the  23d  of  May. 
Instead  of  receiving  the  $5,000,  as  agreed,  in  the  ensuing  Novem- 
ber, and  which  her  critical  friends  had  assured  Mrs.  Smith  she  was 
never  likely  to  see,  on  the  igth  of  October,  before  a  cent  was  le- 
gally due,  Mrs.  Leslie  paid  over  not  the  fractional  instalment,  but 
the  whole  $50,000  and  interest,  out  of  the  earnings  of  her  estab- 
lishment during  the  interim ! 

N.o  department  of  the  business  had  suffered  or  been  over- 
looked since  its  management  had  passed  into  feminine  hands. 
She  was  as  thorough  "and  as  hard  working,  perhaps  more  so, 
than  Mr.  Leslie  had  ever  been.  One  of  the  first  occurrences 
which  called  for  unwonted  energy  in  meeting  the  public  demand 
for  prompt  news  was  on  the  occasion  of  President  Garfield's 
assassination.  The  news  of  this  dastardly  attempt  reached  the 
city  about  half-past  nine  A.  M.  on  the  2d  of  July.  By  the  next 


FRANK     LESLIE.  333 

train  Mrs.  Leslie  despatched  two  artists  to  Washington  to  procure 
drawings  or  photographs  of  the  locality  of  the  tragedy  and  the 
persons  concerned  in  it.  Both  artists  set  to  work  with  a  will  and 
by  next  morning  some  of  the  sketches  were  in  Mrs.  Leslie's  office ; 
the  remainder  came  next  day.  The  entire  corps  of  artists  and 
engravers  had  been  already  enjoined  to  be  ready  for  work  early 
on  Sunday  morning,  and  work  they  did,  with  Mrs.  Leslie  at  their 
head,  and  with  energy  equal  to  the  occasion,  so  that  on  Tuesday 
morning  (the  4th  of  July  having  intervened)  "Frank  Leslie's" 
came  out  with  full  and  accurate  illustrations  of  the  various  persons 
and  scenes  connected  with  the  sad  affair.  Not  satisfied  with  this, 
three  days  later  an  extra  was  issued  with  still  more  extended  and 
minute  illustrations  of  everything  bearing  on  this  exciting  topic ; 
the  subject  being  still  amplified  in  the  next  Tuesday's  issue,  so,  as 
one  may  say,  nothing  was  left  in  the  way  of  novelty  for  less  enter- 
prising publishers  to  pick  up. 

Still  greater  push  and  energy  were  displayed  when  the  fatal  rgth 
of  September  came  with  the  news  of  the  President's  death ;  this 
happened  late  on  Monday  evening  when'  the  regular  Tuesday's 
issue  had  already  gone  to  press.  Mrs.  Leslie  did  not  consume 
time  in  doubt ;  she  ordered  the  presses  stopped ;  sacrificed  the 
work  already  done,  and  every  hand  in  the  establishment  was  set 
to  work  to  hasten  forward  a  new  edition,  which  in  this  case  had 
to  go  over  the  usual  day,  but  on  Wednesday  the  paper  appeared 
with  all  the  affecting  scenes  which  had  .  transpired  at  Elberon ; 
and  succeeding  these  followed  others,  including  all  the  funereal 
pageant,  in  quick  succession.  Over  thirty  thousand  copies  were 
sold  in  Cleveland  alone,  and  probably  twice  as  many  might  have 
been,  but  machinery  as  well  as  human  endurance  has  its  limits, 
and  the  presses  and  pressmen  were  equally  taxed  to  their  utter- 
most. 

Of  course  the  expenses  involved  in  such  unlimited  enterprise 
were  enormous;  between  July  and  November  of  1880  Mrs.  Leslie 
paid  out  over  $77,000  for  white  paper.  Now  and  then  some  thick- 


334  FRANK     LESLIE. 

headed  man  appeared  upon  her  horizon  thinking  to  impose  upon 
her  because  she  was  a  woman ;  they  were  soon  taught  another 
lesson  ;  but  in  the  business  circles  of  New  York  she  very  soon 
inspired  absolute  confidence,  so  that  when  she  no  longer  needed 
it  she  had  numerous  offers  of  any  amount  of  money  at  four  per 
cent. 

In  many  different  ways  the  career  of  Frank  Leslie  has  been  of 
public  advantage  to  the  community.  During  the  late  civil  war  his 
artists  were  everywhere,  risking  their  lives  at  every  engagement, 
sending  to  the  office  from  all  sections  of  the  country  views  of 
friend  and  foe,  which  did  more  to  familiarize  the  average  reader 
with  the  terrible  meaning  of  war  than  written  words  could  ever 
do.  Many  of  these  young  men  lost  their  lives  in  these  perilous 
times ;  when  such  accidents  occurred  Frank  Leslie's  purse  was 
ever  open  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  a  family  so  bereft.  His 
generosity  to  those  injured  in  his  service  was  well  known  to  all 
the  craft.  His  office  might  be  considered  a  great  school  for  artists, 
considering  the  numbers  employed  and  the  fact  that  every  im- 
provement in  style,  material  or  implements  was  seized  upon  with 
avidity.  Progress  was  the  watchword  of  the  establishment.  The 
men  on  the  pay-roll  of  "Frank  Leslie's"  composed  a  small  army. 
In  ordinary  times  the  artists  and  engravers  were  required  to  work 
only  from  nine  in  the  morning  until  four  in  the  afternoon,  with 
an  hour  for  lunch.  This  generous  treatment  was  the  natural  out- 
come of  Frank  Leslie's  .humanitarian  feeling;  he  thought  six  hours 
a  day  quite  as  much  time  as  should  be  given  to  work  requiring 
such  close  application  and  involving  such  a  heavy  strain  upon  the 
nervous  organization.  The  number  of  employes  in  all  depart- 
ments in  the  large  publishing  house  at  the  corner  of  Park  Place 
and  College  Place,  New  York,  is  nearly  four  hundred  persons. 
Thus  the  work  that  the  man  "  Frank  Leslie  "  founded  and  main- 
tained for  twenty-five  years  is  being  nobly  continued  by  the  woman 
"  Frank  Leslie  "  with  energy  and  vigor  fully  equal  to  his  own. 


JOHNS    HOPKINS. 

WHEN  one  has  written  the  name  of  Johns  Hopkins,  the  ten- 
dency of  the  pen  is  almost  irresistible  to  add  the  word  "  Univer- 
sity," they  seem  so  inseparable ;  yet  to  thousands  of  people  in  his 
native  State,  he  will  be  gratefully  remembered  if  he  had  never 
projected  this  great  seat  of  learning.  Johns  Hopkins  was  born  in 
Anne  Arundel  county,  Maryland,  on  the  iQth  of  May,  1795.  The 
Hopkins  are  of  English  Quaker  stock,  and  six  brothers  of  this 
family  came  to  Maryland  among  the  very  earliest  colonists.  Two 
of  these  proceeded  to  New  England  and  settled  there ;  the  four 
others  took  up  large  tracts  of  land  in  different  parts  of  Maryland : 
on  Deer  creek,  Hartford  county;  in  Baltimore  county,  near  Go- 
varstown  ;  and  the  direct  ancestor  of  Johns  made  his  home  at  the 
head  of  South  river  in  Anne  Arundel  county.  All  of  these  several 
branches  have  maintained  -through  their  descendants  elevated 
positions  in  the  social  scale;  some  of  the  leading  families  of  Rhode 
Island  bear  this  name. 

Johns  Hopkins,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
inherited  from  the  first  settler  on  South  river  a  very  large  landed 
property,  together  with  TOO  negroes.  He  had  eleven  children. 
Belonging  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  early  took  their  stand  in 
this  country  against  the  institution  of  slavery,  he  gave  his  slaves 
their  freedom,  and  worked  himself  on  the  farm,  with  the  aid  of  his 
sons,  and  such  white  laborers  as  he  could  hire.  One  of  his  sons, 
Samuel,  married  Hannah  Janney,  of  Loudon  county,  Virginia,  a 
lady  of  a  very  wealthy  and  respected  family,  a  person  of  great 
intelligence  and  force  of  character,  and  of  commanding  influence 
in  the  Society  of  Friends.  These  were  the  parents  of  the  late 
Johns  Hopkins.  Samuel  Hopkins  bought  out  the  other  heirs 

(335) 


336  JOHNS     HOPKINS. 

to  the  estate,  and  carried  on  the  farm  on  the  same  principle  of 
dignifying  white  labor  in  a  slave-holding  State  as  his  father  had 
done,  using  also  the  labor  of  his  sons  ;  but  of  these,  Johns  was  not 
content  to  continue  an  agriculturalist.  When  about  eighteen  (in 
1812),  he  declared  his  desire  for  a  mercantile  life,  and  soon  there- 
after went  to  his  uncle,  Gerald  Hopkins  of  Baltimore,  who  was  in 
the  wholesale  grocery  business,  as  a  clerk.  Here  young  Johns 
found  a  fitting  sphere  for  his  energies ;  he  speedily  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  all  the  details  of  the  business,  and  so  rapidly  did  his 
ideas  advance,  that  the  very  next  year,  with  his  uncle's  consent,  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  one  Benjamin  P.  Moore,  and  started  in 
business  for  himself;  the  firm-name  was  "  Hopkins  &  Moore." 
But  neither  of  these  young  people  had  any  money  with  which  to 
commence  a  wholesale  trade.  Fortunately,  during  the  brief  time 
in  which  young  Hopkins  had  been  in  Baltimore,  he  had  made  many- 
valuable  business  friends,  and  he  readily  obtained  credit,  his  uncle 
endorsing  his  notes  in  some  cases.  A  short  time  previous  to  his 
death,  Mr.  Hopkins  told  a  friend  of  his  business  start,  and  said : 
"When  I  was  a  boy,  my  uncle,  Gerald  T.  Hopkins,  often  came  to 
South  River  to  visit  my  parents,  and,,  noticing  I  was  an  active  boy 
on  the  farm,  asked  my  mother  to  let  me  come  to  Baltimore  to  live 
with  him,  and  said  he  would  bring  me  up  a  merchant.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  I  came,  stayed  in  my  uncle's  store,  who  was  a  whole- 
sale grocer  and  commission  merchant,  and  lived  in  his  family.  He 
was  an  eminent  minister  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  when  I  was 
but  nineteen,  he  was  appointed  to  go  out  to  Ohio  to  the  first 
yearly  meeting,  to  be  held  at  Mt.  Pleasant.  My  aunt  accompanied 
him,  with  three  others.  They  all  travelled  on  horseback,  a  great 
part  of  the  way  through  a  wilderness,  with  no  other  roads  but 
Indian  paths.  But  they  returned,  after  an  absence  of  several 
months,  in  safety.  Previous  to  leaving,  my  uncle  arranged  his 
business  affairs,  and  calling  me  to  him,  said :  'As  thee  has  been 
faithful  to  my  interests  since  thee  has  been  with  me,  I  am  going  to 
leave  everything  in  thy  hands.  Here  are  checks  which  I  have 


JOHNS     HOPKINS.  337 

signed  my  name  to ;  there  are  upward  of  500  of  them.  Thee 
will  deposit  the  money  as  it  is  received,  and  as  thee  wants  money 
thee  will  fill  up  the  checks  which  I  leave  with  thee.  Buy  the 
goods,  and  do  the  best  thee  can.'  I  felt  my  responsibility  to  be 
very  great.  But  on  his  return,  on  looking  over  his  affairs,  he  was 
surprised  to  find  I  had  done  much  better  than  he  expected.  I  had 
increased  his  business  considerably;  and  it  is  with  pride  and 
pleasure  I  look  back  to  the  time,  and  to  the  great  confidence  uncle 
Gerald  reposed  in  me.  I  lived  with  my  uncle  until  I  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  and  one  day  he  took  me  aside,  and  asked  me 
if  I  would  like  to  go  into  business  for  myself.  I  answered:  'Yes; 
but,  uncle,  I  have  no  capital.  I  have  only  $800  which  I  have  saved 
up.'  He  said:  'That  will  make  no  difference;  I  will  endorse  for 
thee,  and  this  will  give  thee  good  credit,  and  in  a  short  time  thee 
will  make  a  capital ;  thee  has  been  faithful  to  my  interests,  and  I 
will  start  thee  in  business.'  So  I  took  a  warehouse  near  his,  and, 
with  his  endorsements  and  assistance,  the  first  year  I  sold  $200,000 
worth  of  goods,  and  soon  made  the  capital  which  my  uncle  said  I 
would  make." 

In  less  than  three  years  the  firm  of  Hopkins  &  Moore  was  dis- 
solved, Johns  Hopkins  wishing  to  have  the  sole  control  of  the 
business,  which  had  indeed  prospered  very  well,  but  in  the  opinion 
of  Mr.  Hopkins  could  be  greatly  extended,  and  made  more  profit- 
able under  his  exclusive  supervision.  Many  noted  persons  have 
had  curious  superstitions  as  to  their  own  destiny ;  some  who,  like 
Alexander  and  Napoleon,  believed  their  star  led  them  on  as  the 
conquerors  of  kings,  and  the  destroyers  of  empires ;  others  have 
fancied  themselves  preordained  to  the  work  of  instructing  man- 
kind, or  of  saving  souls,  like  Gautima,  Buddha,  and  Francis  Xavier; 
but  Johns  Hopkins  held,  we  believe,  the  unique  idea  that  he  was 
divinely  commissioned  to  make  money  ! 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  original  firm,  Mr.  Hopkins  sent  for 
two  of  his  brothers,  smart  young  men,  but  both  minors,  to  assist 
him  in  his  business ;  almost  from  the  start  giving  them  an  interest 


338  JOHNS     HOPKINS. 

in  it,  as  the  best  mode  of  benefiting  them,  and  assuring  himself  of 
their  utmost  zeal.  The  new  firm-sign  bore  the  words,  "  Hopkins 
&  Brothers."  Under  this  arrangement  the  business  took  on  new 
forms  of  development,  mainly,  however,  through  the  unremitting 
energy  of  the  senior  partner.  The  original  nucleus  of  this  grow- 
ing trade  lay  among  the  widely  extended  family  connections  and 
friends  of  Mr.  Hopkins  in  the  great  Valley  of  Virginia,  and  was 
thence  extended  into  other  parts  of  the  State,  and  into  other  States, 
including,  of  course,  Maryland.  The  prosperity  of  this  firm  was 
continuous ;  the  brothers  remained  in  unbroken  business  relations 
and  fraternal  friendship  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  when  Mr. 
Johns  Hopkins  withdrew  from  the  firm  in  favor  of  the  younger 
partners ;  but  not  to  live  in  elegant  leisure  on  his  already  large 
fortune,  but  to  continue  his  peculiar  mission  in  other  directions. 

About  1847-48  Mr.  Hopkins  became  the  President  of  the  Mer- 
cantile Bank  of  Baltimore.  He  also  took  an  active  interest  in  and 
became  a  large  shareholder  in  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad, 
and  was  appointed  a  Director,  and  in  1855  was  appointed  Chair- 
man of  the  Finance  Committee.  During  the  terrible  commercial 
crisis  of  1857  this  road  was  exceedingly  embarrassed.  It  was  built 
originally  to  connect  the  coal-fields  of  Pennsylvania  with  the  sea- 
board, but  the  directors  had  long  desired  to  make  western  connec- 
tions with  the  thriving  towns  and  cities  of  the  west ;  up  to  the  time 
of  the  commercial  crisis  the  prospect  of  obtaining  the  necessary 
capital  promised  well,  but  the  monetary  panic  suddenly  crushed 
all  their  hopes.  In  this  emergency  Johns  Hopkins  came  to  the 
front  and  voluntarily  offered  to  become  personally  responsible  for 
the  whole  amount  necessary  to  extend  the  road  to  the  Ohio  river. 
In  1871  he  held  fifteen  thousand  shares  of  this  stock  of  the  par  value 
of  $1,500,000,  and  a  market  value  of  $2,000,000;  no  other  individ- 
ual approximating  to  this  figure  in  the  concern,  the  city  of  Baltimore 
and  the  State  of  Maryland  alone  slightly  exceeding  the  amount. 

Mr.  Hopkins  had  the  interests  of  Baltimore  very  much  at  heart; 
everything  that  he  could  do  to  increase  its  commercial  greatness 


JOHNS     HOPKINS.  339 

and  material  prosperity  he  did.  One  of  the  kindest  and  most  con- 
siderate ways  in  which  he  did  this  was  in  helping  young  merchants 
through  temporary  financial  embarrassments ;  carefully  watching  the 
course  of  young  men,  he  was  not  slow  to  discover  who  were  worthy 
.and  who  were  unworthy  of  his  assistance,  and  Johns  Hopkins  did 
mot  waste  money  or  credit  on  the  idle  or  dishonest.  As  bank  presi- 
dent he  was  able  to  perform  many  good  offices  in  this  way.  When 
a  worthy  young  merchant  wanted  accommodation  from  the  bank, 
and  his  name  and  status  came  before  the  board,  if  the  directors 
hesitated,  Mr.  Hopkins  would  assume  the  responsibility,  often  un- 
known to  the  applicant,  thus  setting  many  a  young  man  firmly  on 
his  feet,  who,  but  for  such  timely  help,  must  have  gone  under, 
with  the  too  great  pressure  of  crowding  obligations. 

Another  way  in  which  Mr.  Hopkins  assisted  the  material  pros- 
perity of  Baltimore  was,  by  opening  up  new  channels  of  trade  to 
her  merchants,  and  by  increasing  the  facilities  for  its  transaction 
within  the  city  itself.  For  the  latter  purpose  he  bought  whole 
blocks  and  large  plots  of  land,  pulling  down  small  and  inadequate 
buildings,  and  putting  up  substantial  warehouses  and  other  needed 
structures,  thus  enabling  certain  branches  of  trade  and  commerce 
to  concentrate  in  proper  and  convenient  localities,  furnishing  full 
scope  for  all  to  conduct  their  business  to  the  best  advantage ;  and 
adding  to  the  commercial  importance  of  the  city,  to  the  taxable 
wealth  of  the  community,  and  affording  occupation  to  hundreds  of 
laborers  and  artisans.  With  constant  temptation  to  speculate  in 
railroad  and  other  stocks,  the  increased  value  of  which  was  largely 
owing  to  his  own  energy  and  judicious  management,  he  never  put 
a  single  share  upon  the  market.  All  his  purchases  were  made  as 
permanent  investments,  and  so  held  to  the  end. 

Mr.  Hopkins  never  married;  during  the  later  years  of  his  life 
he  lived  on  his  beautiful  suburban  estate,  about  a  mile  from  the 
city  limits,  at  "  Clifton,"  on  the  Hartford  road.  This  estate  con- 
tained about  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  it  was  this  estate 
which  he  originally  designed  for  the  location  of  the  University  he 


34O  JOHNS     HOPKINS. 

so  amply  endowed.  One  reason  why  he  thought  this  a  desirable 
site  was,  that  the  grounds  would  afford  ample  space,  and  every 
facility  for  the  study  of  practical  botany  and  other  branches  of 
natural  science. 

Although  the  funds  bequeathed  by  Mr.  Hopkins  for  the  Univer- 
sity and  hospital  foundations  did  not  come  into  the  hands  of  the 
trustees  until  after  his  decease,  yet  the  charter  of  incorporation 
was  secured  six  years  previously,  and  the  munificent  donor  per- 
sonally selected  the  gentlemen  for  trustees  whom  he  had  long 
known,  and  whom  he  felt  that  he  .could  trust  to  carry  out  his 
wishes ;  and  with  them  he  frequently  consulted  as  to  the  principal 
objects  to  be  attained  through  these  grand  institutions.  The 
"  Johns  Hopkins  University  "  was  incorporated  in  our  Centennial 
year,  1876. 

Mr.  Hopkins  survived  until  the  24th  of  December,  1873.  He 
had  by  his  will  provided  liberally  for  all  his  kindred  and  depen- 
dents, but  by  a  codicil  he  subsequently  revoked  some  of  these 
private  bequests,  "because  the  parties  named  had  been  otherwise 
provided  for;"  what  was  thus  revoked  was  added  to  his  public 
gifts.  One  of  the  pleasing  features  of  his  legacy  for  the  Univer- 
sity is  the  entire  absence  of  any  perplexing  conditions.  In  his 
grand  gift  Mr.  Hopkins  did  not  permit  himself  to  trammel  the 
trustees  by  any  whims  or  fancies  of  a  personal  nature,  but  leaves 
them  entirely  free  to  exercise  their  discretion  in  details — not  even 
definitely  assigning  a  location,  though  it  was  well  known  that 
Clifton  was  the  site  in  his  own  mind.  The  only  positive  condition 
binding  upon  the  trustees  was  that  the  capital  should  not.be  en- 
croached on  for  building  purposes.;  that  must  be  derived  from  the 
income,  and  the  main  fund  left  intact  as  an  endowment  for  the 
practical  work  of  the  university.  It  would  appear,  from  some 
anecdotes  related  of  Mr.  Hopkips,  that  he  was  a  firm  believer  in 
the  verbal  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  ;  but  no  sectarian  or  re- 
ligious test  was  affixed  to  the  faculty  or  contemplated  forms  of 
.instruction.  Like  other  rich  men,  he  was  often  annoyed; by  the 


JOHNS     HOPKINS.  34! 

solicitations  of  disreputable  as  well  as  respectable  beggars.  One 
of  the  former  kind  was  an  inveterate  and  pertinacious  tramp,  who 
used  to  take  up  his  position  under  a  grand  old  oak,  which  stood 
sentinel-like  near  the  porter's  lodge  at  Clifton,  which  made  the  old 
millionaire  very  nervous,  and  was  a  daily  vexation  to  him.  Speak- 
ing of  it  on  one  occasion  to  a  nephew,  the  latter  suggested  that  he 
should  "pay  him  to  go  away."  "Pay  him  money!"  Mr.  Hopkins 
shrieked,  while  his  long  arms  flew  about  like  those  of  a  windmill ; 
"  pay  him  money !  God  forbid  !  If  I  should  once  do  that  there 
would  soon  be  a  hundred  here  instead  of  one."  "  Well,  then," 
said  the  young  man,  "  if  I  was  you  I  would  kick  him  off  the  place." 
"  I  cannot  do  that,  either;  I  am  afraid  to  do  that."  "Why,  surely 
you  are  not  afraid  of  such  a  miserable  cur  as  that,"  retorted  the 
nephew.  "  No,  no,"  said  Johns  Hopkins,  sinking  his  voice  to  a 
hoarse  whisper ;  "  I  am  not  afraid  of  him,  but  I'm  afraid  of  God. 
Have  you  not  read  in  the  Bible  how  Dives  treated  Lazarus?  would 
you  have  me  do  like  him  and  burn  in  hell  forever?"  Whatever 
were  the  nephew's  theological  opinions,  he  ventured  no  reply  to 
this  "  confession  of  faith,"  and  the  peace-disturbing  vagabond  re- 
mained in  undisputed  possession  of  his  selected  post. 

During  his  last  illness  the  pressure  of  his  responsibility  for 
the  use  of  the  money  which  he  had  made,  or  intended  to  make,  still 
weighed  upon  him.  He  knew  that  to  some  extent  he  was  regarded 
as  a  close,  avaricious  man,  and,  in  the  course  of  his  life,  had  occa- 
sionally remarked  to  some  of  his  more  intimate  friends  that  they 
would  some  day  find  out  that  he  was  not  hoarding  money  for  his 
own  sake,  but  that  he  had  a  divine  inspiration  not  to  give  it  away 
indiscriminately  to  the  importunate,  the  impudent  and  lazy;  that 
the  wealth  which  had  rolled  in  upon  him  was  only  his  to  use  for  God, 
and  to  fulfil  his  mission  it  must  be  used  with  care,  and  not  lavishly 
distributed  to  all  who  would  like  to  share  in  it.  Mr.  Hopkins 
sometimes  used  very  homely  language  and  illustrations,  but  they 
were  very  much  to  the  point,  and  one  so  true  to  human  nature,  as 
well  as  the  swinish  nature  which  he  described,  that  we  give  it  a 


3^2  JOHNS     HOPKINS. 

place  here.  The  conversation  occurred  only  a  few  days  before  his 
death.  Speaking  with  his  gardener,  an  old  and  faithful  dependent, 
he  said,  "  I  am  beginning  to  hate  this  place"  (Clifton),  "  because  it 
does  not  bring  in  any  money ;  I  hate  everything  that  does  not 
bring  in  money."  Then,  after  a  while,  he  suddenly  asked,  "  Did 
you  ever  feed  hogs  ?  If  you  have,  you  must  have  seen  how  the 
strongest  ones  will  seize  upon  the  ears  of  corn  and  carry 
them  off,  while  the  weaker  ones  follow  them,  squeaking,  in  hopes 
it  may  be  dropped,  and  that  they  may  get  all  or  a  part."  The 
gardener  admitted  that  it  was  "jes'  so."  "Well,  then,"  said  Mr. 
Hopkins,  "  I  am  like  that  strong  hog — I've  got  the  big  ear  of  corn, 
and  every  little  piggish  rascal  in  Baltimore  is  bound  to  steal  it  or 
get  it  from  me  some  way  if  he  can."  Of  course,  the  gardener 
could  not  readily  admit  that  his  kind  employer  was  one  of  the 
strong  swine ;  yet  the  simile  was  too  striking  to  be  controverted. 
After  a  silence  of  a  few  moments  he  asked  again,  "  Do  you  think 
a  very  rich  man  is  happy  ?  "  To  this  the  gardener  answered, 
"  Extreme  poverty  is  a  sad  enough  thing,  but  I  suppose  very  great 
wealth  has  its  troubles,  also."  "  You  are  right,"  replied  Johns 
Hopkins.  "  Next  to  the  hell  of  being  without  money  is  the  purga- 
tory of  having  too  much.  I  have  a  mission,  and  under  its  influence 
I  have  accumulated  great  wealth — but  not  happiness."  It  is  rather 
sad  to  think  that  so  conscientious  and  well-meaning  a  man  was  not 
able  to  enjoy  his  life;  but  there  were  some  peculiar  reasons  for 
this  in  his  case.  One  was  that  he  had  no  true  family  life,  and 
another  was  a  sort,  of  morbid  mentality,  which  made  him  exces- 
sively sensitive  to  his  responsibilities  as  a  man  of  wealth  ;  but  could 
he  now  realize  the  benefits  which  he  has  conferred  upon  thousands 
of  his  fellow-men,  who  are  ready  to  "  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed," 
we  think  he  might  experience  some  of  that  happiness  of  which  he 
deprived  himself  while  in  life. 

The  trustees  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  fund  decided  to  locate  the 
•iniversity  within  the  city  limits  of  Baltimore  rather  than  at  Clifton, 
so  that  they  might  have  the  immediate  benefit  of  existing  institu- 


JOHNS    HOPKINS.  343 

tions :  such,  for  instance,  as  the  "  Peabody  Library,"  containing 
60,000  volumes,  which  was,  by  the  consent  of  the  trustees  of  that 
institution,  made- available  to  the  university  students;  as  also  to  de- 
rive benefit  from  the  proximity  to  the  Medical  Institute  (mainly 
technological)  and  the  Maryland  Academy  of  Sciences.  It  was 
these  considerations  which  induced  the  trustees  in  the  first  instance 
to  purchase  two  private  houses  on  the  southwest  corner  of  How- 
ard and  Ross  streets,  which,  with  a  temporary  annex,  served  the 
purposes  of  the  first  students  collected  under  the  will  of  Johns 
Hopkins,  and  in  the  assembly  room  of  which  was  a  brass  memor- 
ial tablet,  presented  by  the  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson,  thus  inscribed : 
"  To  commemorate  the  bounty  of  Johns  Hopkins  of.  Baltimore, 
who,  by  noble  gifts  for  the  advancement  of  learning  and  the  relief 
of  suffering,  has  won  the  gratitude  of  his  city  and  his  country." 
The  actual  work  of  the  university  was  inaugurated  on  February 
22  (Washington's  birthday),  1876.  The  object  of  the  trustees,  as 
they  say  in  their  first  report,  was  "  not  to  imitate  or  to  attempt  to 
rival  any  other  college,  but  to  make,  if  possible,  a  positive  contri- 
bution to  American  education."  In  the  report  for  1881—2  we  find 
that  to  some  extent  this  has  been  done.  Among  other  items  men- 
tioned is  the  fact  that  Professor  Rowland,  the  instructor  in  physical 
science,  who,  as  a  member  of  the  electrical  commission,  lately  vis- 
ited Europe,  has  constructed  a  new  instrument  for  ruling  "  diffrac- 
tion gratings  "  with  most  excellent  results  ;  and  also  his  assistant, 
Mr.  Hall,  has  made  note  of  some  new  points  on  the  action  of 
magnets  on  electric  currents.  It  was  also  by  a  member  of  this 
faculty,  Dr.  Remsen,  that  the  true  cause  of  the  deterioration  of  the 
Cochituate  water,  used  to  supply  the  city  of  Boston,  was  discov- 
ered :  various  reasons  had  been  assigned  and  abandoned  to  ac- 
count for  the  disagreeable  odor  and  taste  of  this  water  during  the 
summer  of  '81  ;  but  it  was  reserved  for  a  professor  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  of  Baltimore  to  discover  that  the  cause  of  this 
was  not  "  dead  fish,"  as  had  been  supposed,  but  by  a  semi-vegeta- 
ble growth,  the  "  spongilla  lacustris,"  or  fresh  water  sponge.  The 


344  JOHNS     HOPKINS. 

cause  once  made  clear  a  remedy  was  easily  applied,  and  the  cap- 
ital of  New  England  was  soon  rejoicing  in  cleansed  reservoirs  and 
usable  water.  But  a  still  more  remarkable  application  of  science 
was  that  process  discovered  by  Prof.  Dr.  Martin,  of  the  Biological 
department,  whose  researches  in  the  study  of  the  mammalian 
heart  have  resulted  in  enabling  him  to  keep  the  hearts  of  mammals 
alive  for  five  or  six  hours  after  the  dissection  and  death  of  the 
animal,  so  that  experiments  upon  the  living  organ  in  animals  akin 
to  mammary  may  be  studied  instead  of  depending  upon  the  dead 
human  body,  or  the  unsatisfactory  substitute  of  living  batrachia. 
We  might  add  other  instances,  but  for  so  young  an  institution  as 
Hopkins  this  is  an  excellent  showing;  no  money  actually  coming 
into  the  hands  of  the  trustees  until  the  i8th  of  March,  1875. 

Mr.  Hopkins  took  care  to  provide  for  the  support  and  encour- 
agement of  specialists  in  science,  philosophy,  and  literature,  after 
the  manner  of  the  great  foreign  universities,  by  establishing  ten 
fellowships,  with  an  honorarium  of  $500  per  annum,  for  such  as  wish 
to  devote  their  time  to  the  higher  branches  beyond  the  regular 
university  course,  or  to  any  special  branch  of  human  knowledge. 
There  are  also  twenty  free  scholarships  open  to  the  competition  of 
young  men,  natives  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina, 
and  five  free  scholarships  to  applicants  from  any  other  part  of  the 
country.  There  are  also  some  "  two-year  scholarships  "  open  to 
competition  from  among  the  best-prepared  youth  of  Baltimore 
City  College ;  the  successful  candidates  of  this  class  receive  a  gift 
of  $100  at  the  end  of  each  of  the  two  years,  if  their  progress  and 
conduct  have  been  satisfactory.  The  number  of  students  at  the 
present  time  is  over  two  hundred,  with  a  staff  of  forty-three  pro- 
fessors and  teachers.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  not  content  with  endow- 
ing this  noble  institution  for  raising  the  mental  standard  of.  the 
present  and  coming  generations  of  Maryland :  he  had  thoughts  of 
mercy  for  the  sick,  the  crippled ;  for  physical  affliction  in  any  form, 
and  especially  when  this  was  combined  with  poverty.  He  left  over 
$3,000,000  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  hospital  on  the  most  ex- 


JOHNS     HOPKINS.  345 

tensive  scale,  and  on  the  most  approved  hygienic  principles.  The 
plot  of  ground  dedicated  to  this  purpose  contains  about  fourteen 
acres,  and  is  located  one  mile  to  the  eastward  of  the  university. 
The  central  building  containing  the  offices  and  public  halls  is  an 
elegant  building  with  tall  towers,  which  can  be  seen  from  almost 
any  part  of  the  city.  The  buildings  for  the  reception  of  patients, 
nurses'  kitchen,  autopsy  and  the  medical  school,  number  fifteen. 
There  are  twelve  wards,  divided  so  that  not  only  men  and  women, 
adults  and  children,  black  and  white,  are  separately  provided  for, 
but  also  different  diseases  have  their  allotted  place.  Of  course  the 
most  perfect  ventilation  and  all  approved  modern  appliances  are 
abundantly  furnished.  Part  of  the  wards  are  for  free  patients, 
part  for  those  able  to  pay.  The  buildings  are  (in  external  appear- 
ance) in  the  Queen  Anne  style,  but  the  interior  is  more  light  and 
cheerful  than  most  structures  imitating  that  style  of  architecture. 
The  extent  of  the  hospital  accommodations  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  trustees  have  great  faith  in  the  future  growth  of  Balti- 
more, as  the  wards  already  opened  exceed  the  demands  of  the 
present  population.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  not  a  handsome  man ; 
there  was  nothing  in  his  appearance  or  manners  to  recommend 
him  to  the  beau  monde  ;  brought  up  in  the  faith  of  the  Friends  he 
was  very  apt,  when  he  did  speak,  to  express  the  plain  truth  in  a 
way  not  always  acceptable  to  "  ears  polite."  But  he  was  honest 
through  and  through,  and  much  of  what  he  did,  which  his  contem- 
poraries looked  upon  as  mere  selfish  schemes  for  his  own  aggran- 
dizement, was  really  done  from  one  of  the  noblest  motives — the 
desire  to  benefit  the  city  of  Baltimore.  His  external  appearance 
was  much  against  him,  but  future  generations  in  the  "monumental 
city  "  will  not  forget  that  "  handsome  is  that  handsome  does."  Mr. 
Hopkins'  bequests  for  public  benefits  exceed  all  others — being 
over  $7,000,000 ! 


JOSEPH   HARRISON,  JR. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Septem- 
ber 20,  1810.  His  parents  were  Joseph  and  Mary  (Crawford) 
Harrison,  natives  of  Gloucester  county,  New  Jersey.  Joseph 
led  the  ordinary  life  of  a  city  boy,  and  obtained  rather  more  than 
the  ordinary  amount  of  schooling,  for  he  was  of  quick  apprehen- 
sion and  studious  in  his  habits,  so  that  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he 
had  laid  the  groundwork,  at  least,  of  a  fair  English  education. 
Subsequent  to  that  period  his  only  educational  advantages  con- 
sisted in  attendance  upon  a  night  school  for  a  short  period  during 
his  apprenticeship,  in  which,  however,  he  succeeded  in  mastering 
"  Bonnycastle's  Mensuration  of  Superfices  and  Solids." 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was,  after  a  preliminary  trial,  apprenticed 
to  Frederick  D.  Sanno  to  learn  steam-engineering.  At  the  end 
of  two  years,  however,  this  apprenticeship  was  suddenly  termi- 
nated by  the  business  failure  of  Mr.  Sanno.  Joseph's  indentures 
were  cancelled  and  he  was  compelled  to  seek  another  situation. 
This,  owing  to  his  previous  experience,  he  readily  found,  and  also 
secured  better  terms  than  a  mere  beginner  could  have  asked  or 
obtained.  His  second  apprenticeship  was  to  James  Flint  for  the 
term  of  four  years.  This  employer  was  engaged  chiefly  in  the 
making  of  cotton  machinery,  as  well  as  all  forms  of  stationary 
engines.  In  this  work  he  soon  acquired  such  great  proficiency 
that  the  making  of  the  most  delicate  machinery  was  intrusted  to 
him,  and  before  he  had  reached  twenty  years  of  age  he  had  been 
raised  to  the  position  of  foreman  of  the  shop  in  which  some  thirty 
men  and  boys  were  employed.  In  this  capacity  he  remained  for 
two  years  after  his  apprenticeship  had  ceased,  and  then  entered 
the  works  of  Philip  Garret,  of  Philadelphia,  a  machinist  engaged  in 
(346) 


JOSEPH     HARRISON,    JR.  347 

very  fine  work,  such  as  jewelers'  lathes  and  presses  for  bank-note 
engravers,  etc. 

In  1833  Aurundius  Tiers,  of  Port  Clinton,  Pennsylvania,  requir- 
ing some  machinery  in  his  establishment,  employed  Mr.  Harrison, 
who  had  then  left  Mr.  Garret's,  to  make  and  put  it  up,  which  he 
did  entirely  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  employer. 

About  this  time  the  building  of  locomotives  excited  a  great 
deal  of  interest  and  attention  among  machinists,  as  well  as  the 
people  at  large.  All  felt  that  the  railroad  was  destined  to  play  a 
great  part  in  the  development  of  the  country,  and  that  fortunes 
were  to  be  made  in  the  invention  and  manufacture  of  rolling-stock. 
In  1834,  stimulated  by  curiosity,  he  one  day  visited  the  shop  of 
Long  &  Morris,  who  for  some  time  had  been  engaged  in  no  very 
successful  efforts  to  build  locomotive  engines — those  which  they 
did  produce  usually  proving  failures  upon  actual  trial.  Mr.  Har- 
rison here  met,  to  his  surprise,  his  old  master,  F.  D.  Sanno,  who 
held  the  position  of  foreman  in  the  establishment,  and  whom  he 
had  not  seen  for  many  years.  Through  the  recommendation  of 
Mr.  Sanno  he  was  offered  and  accepted  a  situation,  and  imme- 
diately began  to  apply  his  skill  and  knowledge  -to  remedying  de- 
fects in  work  which  had  already  been  produced,  and  this  with,  so 
much  success  as  to  secure  him  in  two  weeks  an  increase  of  wages 
and  an  advance  in  position  in  the  shop.  Here  he  remained  for 
n  year  and  a  half,  and  by  practice  and  observation  added  much  to 
his  skill  and  knowledge  as  a  practical  draughtsman  and  builder  of 
engines. 

At  this  time  the  firm  of  Garret  &  Eastwick  were  showing  con- 
siderable skill  as  locomotive  builders,  and  in  1835  Mr.  Harrison 
entered  their  employment  as  foreman.  While  here  he  designed 
and  built  for  the  Beaver  Meadow  Railroad  Company  the  engine 
"  Samuel  D.  Ingham,"  in  which  were  introduced  many  novel  feat- 
ures, among  others  certain  new  methods  of  reversing,  chiefly  in- 
ventions of  Mr.  Eastwick,  and  which  were  subsequently  most  suc- 
cessfully used  in  engines  built  by  Mr.  Harrison  and  his  partners 
in  Russia. 


t^S  JOSEPH     HARRISON,    JR. 

This  locomotive,  as  well  as  many  similar  ones,  proving  success- 
ful, Mr.  Harrison,  although  without  capital,  was  taken  into  the 
firm,  his  skill  and  integrity  being  considered  more  than  equivalent 
for  a  moneyed  investment.  In  1851  the  firm  turned  out  the 
famous  engine  "  Gowan  and  Marx,"  in  which  all  the  improve- 
ments up  to  that  time  made  were  introduced.  Among  these  was 
the  use  of  four  driving  and  four  truck-wheels,  the  invention  of  Mr. 
Eastwick,  and  a  new  mode  of  equalizing  the  weight  of  the  driving 
wheels — Harrison's  improvement  on  .  Eastwick's  patent.  All 
American  passenger  engines  now  use  these  inventions,  the  dis- 
covery and  introduction  of  which  was  due  to  the  ingenuity  and 
enterprise  of  this  firm. 

The  "  Gowan  and  Marx  "  proved  to  be  the  most  powerful  engine 
built  up  to  that  time.  It  drew  one  hundred  and  one  loaded  cars 
over  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad,  for  which  it  had  been 
built.  Many  orders  from  this  and  other  roads  immediately  fol- 
lowed, and  the  reputation  of  the  firm  steadily  grew.  Some  of  their 
engines,  built  for  the  Beaver  Meadow  Railroad,  drew  trains  up 
higher  grades  than  had  ever  previously  been  attempted  either  in 
Europe  or  America. 

In  1840  two  eminent  engineers,  Colonel  Melnikoff  and  Colonel 
Kraft,  were  sent  out  by  the  Russian  government  to  examine  the 
railroad  system  of  this  country.  The  reputation  of  the  firm  of 
Eastwick  &  Harrison  attracted  their  attention,  and  on  their  return 
to  Russia,  they  were  invited  to  undertake  the  building  of  locomo- 
tives and  other  rolling  stock  for  the  railroad  then  about  to  be  built 
from  St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow,  a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles. 
After  taking  Mr.  Thomas  Winans,  of  Baltimore,  as  an  additional 
partner,  the  firm,  in  December,  1843,  concluded  to  contract  with 
the  Russian  government  for  the  sum  of  $3,000,000,  the  work  to  be 
completed  in  five  years,  and  immediately  established  themselves  in 
St.  Petersburg,  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  contract  was,  that 
the  work  was  to  be  done  there  and  by  Russian  workmen,  or  at 
least  by  such  as  could  be  found  on  the  spot.  The  contractors 


JOSEPH     HARRISON,    JR.  349 

found  themselves  surrounded  with  difficulties;  they  were  ignorant 
of  the  language  of  the  men  they  were  compelled  to  employ,  and 
unfamiliar  with  the  business  methods  of  the  government  they  were 
serving;  but  with  true  American  determination,  and  with  the  most 
absolute  integrity  of  purpose,  they  began  and  carried  forward  their 
work  with  such  energy  that  it  was  completed  to  the  entire  satis-* 
faction  of  the  government,  and  paid  for  more  than  a  year  in  ad- 
vance of  the  time  specified  in  the  contract. 

In  the  meantime  other  orders  had  been  received,  amounting  in 
the  aggregate  to  more  than  $2,000,000.  The  most  important  of 
these  was  a  contract  for  building  a  cast-iron  bridge  over  the  Neva, 
one  of  the  largest  bridges  in  the  world,  and  which  was  finished  in 
the  year  1854.  On  the  opening  of  this  bridge  Joseph  Harrison, 
Jr.,  received  from  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  as  a  mark  of  his  esteem, 
the  ribbon  of  the  Order  of  St.  Ann,  to  which  was  attached  a  mas- 
sive gold  medal  bearing  on  its  face  a  portrait  of  the  emperor,  and 
on  the  reverse  the  motto,  in  the  Russian  language,  "  For  zeal." 
Even  before  this  the  emperor  had  given  many  evidences  of  his 
favor.  In  1847,  m  company  with  his  son,  the  Grand  Duke  Con- 
stantine,  Prince  Paskewitch,  and  other  high  officers  of  the  govern- 
ment, he  visited  the  works  of  the  American  contractors  in  St. 
Petersburg,  and,  after  spending  many  hours  there,  sent  to  each 
member  of  the  firm  a  splendid  diamond  ring. 

Before  the  completion  of  the  first  contract  a  new  one  was  en- 
tered into  with  Joseph  Harrison,  Jr.,  Thomas  and  William  S. 
Winans,  to  maintain  the  running  order  of  the  rolling  stock  of  the 
St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  Railroad  for  the  period  of  eleven 
years.  This  contract  was  completed  in  1862  to  the  entire  satisfac- 
tion of  all  parties  concerned,  and  Mr.  Harrison  returned,  to  the 
United  States,  and  to  his  native  city,  to  enjoy  in  well-earned 
repose  the  fruits  of  his  industry. 

But  to  one  of  his  active  mind  idleness  was  not  repose,  and  he 
was  speedily  engaged  in  the  invention  of  the  boiler  which  now 
bears  his  name,  and  which  secures  absolute  safety  against  explo- 


JOSEPH     HARRISON,    JR. 

sion.  Large  numbers  of  the  Harrison  boilers  are  now  in  use  in 
various  portions  of  the  United  States,  and  many  testimonials  as  to 
its  merits  have  from  time  to  time  been  given  scientific  and  indus- 
trial organizations  throughout  the  country. 

Mr.  Harrison  has  thoroughly  mastered  the  whole  subject  of 
steam-boilers  and  locomotive  engineering,  and  made  many  valua- 
ble contributions  to  the  literature  of  the  subject,  among  others  a 
work  entitled:  "  The  Locomotive  Engine  and  Philadelphia's  share 
in  its  Early  Improvement,"  published  in  1872,  with  illustrations. 

At  home  once  more,  he  employed  his  large  wealth  in  building 
for  himself  one  of  the  most  beautiful  residences  in  the  city,  with 
homes  for  his  children  immediately  adjoining.  Here,  with  the 
gems,  statuary  and  pictures  purchased  abroad,  as  a  nucleus,  he 
established  the  finest  private  art-gallery  in  the  city.  Among  the 
treasures  which  he  most  highly  prized  were  portraits  and  busts  of 
the  Czar  and  other  Russian  dignitaries  with  which  he  had  been 
presented.  In  art  he  was  a  connoisseur  of  no  mean  ability,  and 
was  most  liberal  in  encouraging  the  talents  of  native  artists.  He 
was  the  owner  of  some  of  the  finest  works  of  Rothermel,  Hamil- 
ton, Read,  Richards,  May  and  others;  many  great  canvasses 
adorned  the  walls  of  his  gallery ;  among  the  most  important  of 
these  were  West's  "  Christ  Rejected,"  and  Vanderlyn's  "Ariadne." 

Shortly  after  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  while  the  venerable 
artists  Rembrandt  Peale  and  Thomas  Sully  were  still  living,  he 
gave  to  each  a  commission  to  paint  the  portrait  of  the  other,  and 
when  the  works  were  completed,  invited  the  artists  to  his  home, 
where  he  had  gathered  a  large  company  of  guests  to  meet  them, 
and  thus  do  honor  to  the  two  octogenarian  representatives  of 
American  art. 

William  Harrison  always  derived  the  liveliest  satisfaction  from 
his  recollections  of  his  early  career,  and  ever  upheld  the  dignity 
and  honor  of  his  vocation.  In  a  poem  addressed  to  his  children 
he  sang  the  praises  of  iron  and  iron-workers.  He  also  commis- 
sioned Christian  Schuessele  to  illustrate  on  canvas  the  legend  of 


JOSEPH     HARRISON,    JR.  351 

King  Solomon  and  the  iron-workers,  the  legend  being  that,  when 
all  the  great  men  of  the  kingdom  had  assembled  to  celebrate  the 
completion  and  dedication  of  the  Temple,  a  mighty  smith,  the 
iron-worker,  was  by  King  Solomon  awarded  the  place  of  honor  at 
his  right  hand  as  having  been  most  useful  in  the  accomplishment 
of  the  great  work.  This  is  the  finest  work  ever  painted  by 
Schuessele,  and  is  among  the  finest  in  the  Harrison  collection. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  did  much  towards 
decorating  Fairmount  Park,  and  many  of  his  finest  paintings  were 
from  time  to  time  placed  on  exhibition  in  the  public  art  galleries 
of  the  city.  For  many  years  he  had  been  a  sufferer  from  Bright's 
disease,  and  of  this,  on  March  27th,  1874,  he  died.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Sarah  Poulterer,  December  I5th,  1836,  and  his  wife  and 
six  children  survived  him. 


EX-GOVERNOR    LELAND    STANFORD. 

LELAND  STANFORD  is  best  known  as  the  President  of  the  Central 
Pacific  Railroad.  Besides  the  gold  and  silver  kings  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  there  is  another  class  of  magnates  who  have  derived  most 
of  their  wealth  from  early  connection  wiih  the  Central  Pacific 
Railroad.  Ex-Governor  Stanford  is  one  of  these ;  and  he  is  now 
valued  at  rather  over  than  below  $20,000,000,  which  for  all  practi- 
cal purposes  is  just  as  good  as  $100,000,000.  He  is  the  fortunate 
possessor  of  fourteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
shares  of  Central  Pacific  stock,  valued  at  $10,000,000;  he  has 
$5,000,000  in  the  Southern  Pacific,  and  is  interested  in  other  rail- 
roads to  the  value  of  $2,000,000.  In  the  inventory  of  taxable 
personal  property  the  diamonds  and  other  gems  of  himself  and 
family  amount  to  nearly  $400,000.  On  one  occasion,  while  in 
London,  when  Mr.  Stanford  and  wife  visited  the  theatre,  Mrs. 
Stanford  wore  diamonds  to  the  value  of  $100,000.  The  value  of 
the  real  estate  owned  by  Mr.  Stanford  is  not  accurately  known. 
He  also  has  an  extensive  interest  in  the  Golden  Gate  Woollen 
Mills  in  San  Francisco.  A  specimen  of  the  fine  work  of  this  in- 
dustry he  presented  as  a  memento  to  the  Marquis  of  Lome  and 
the  Princess  Louisa,  on  their  recent  visit  to  California,  in  the  shape 
of  a  pair  of  exceedingly  fine,  soft  blankets,  very  suitable  for  the 
climate  of  Canada.  Mr.  Stanford  never  soiled  his  hands  with 
the  pick  and  shovel  of  the  early  emigrants  to  California ;  he  be- 
lieved there  was  money  to  be  made  in  other  ways,  and  he  bided 
his  time,  commencing  his  business  life  in  California  as  a  merchant 
in  the  vicinity  of  a  mining  town  in  Placer  county.  The  profits  at 
that  time  on  all  kinds  of  assorted  goods  were  enormous,  and  the 
farther  the  miner  was  from  the  port  of  San  Francisco  the  more  he 
(352) 


LELAND  STANFORD. 


EX-GOVERNOR     LELAND    STANFORD.  353 

had  to  pay  for  clothes,  implements  of  labor,  spirits,  tobacco,  and 
for  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  as  well  as  the  few  luxuries  which 
could  be  transported  inland.  Money  doubled  itself  quickly  in  the 
hands  of  those  early  traders  who  followed  in  the  trail  of  the  miner, 
and  Mr.  Stanford's  capital  soon  increased  sufficiently  for  him 
to  venture  on  competition  with  the  larger  dealers  in  the  port.' 
Here,  in  San  Francisco,  he  entered  into  partnership  with  an  estab- 
lished firm  in  the  wholesale  trade,  in  which  he  was  equally  success- 
ful ;  but  he  had  not  yet  found  his  true  sphere.  Politics  was  un- 
doubtedly his  forte,  and,  since  his  residence  in  the  city,  he  had  in- 
terested himself  in  both  local  and  State. politics,  sometimes  acting 
with  one  party,  and  occasionally,  when  local  feeling  set  strongly 
the  other  way,  acting  with  the  opposite.  But,  as  the  crisis  of  the 
country  approached,  and  statesmen,  politicians  and  demagogues 
began  to  take  sides  in  the  approaching  conflict,  Mr.  Stanford  had 
the  shrewdness  to  seize  the  current  .at  its  flood,  became  a  pro- 
nounced Republican,  and,  in  consequence,  received  the  nomination 
in  1 86 1  for  Governor  for  the  State  of  California.  He  was  now  in 
his  element;  and  here,, while  acting  in  a  broad  spirit  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  State,  he  also  laid  the  foundations  for  the  fortune 
since  acquired  in  railroad  stocks  and  bonds.  From  the  first  he 
favored  the  building  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  and  worked 
judiciously  to  forward  its  completion. 

More  fortunate  than  some  of  those  early  connected  with  the 
scheme  of  uniting  the  West  to  the  East,  he  has  known  how  to  use 
his  opportunities  to  his  own  benefit,  which  those  early  workers  to 
the  same  end,  G.  D.  Judah,  L.  A.  Upson,  editor  of  the  Sacramento 
Union,  and  its  proprietors,  Anthony  Morrill  &  Larkin,  failed  to 
profit  by.  In  the  early  days  of  the  civil  war,  1861—2,  mining  was 
not  as  profitable  as  it  had  been,  and  the  agricultural  prospects  of  the 
State  were  very  low.  Two  seasons  of  destructive  floods,  suc- 
ceeded by  one  of  excessive  drought,  had  discouraged  the  farming 
population ;  the  statesmen  and  capitalists  of  the  State  were  look- 
ing about  for  sources  of  investment,  and  they  first  thought  of  mak- 
23 


354  EX-GOVERNOR  LELAND  STANFORD. 

ing  California  a  manufacturing  commonwealth  ;  but  what  was  the 
use  of  manufactures,  without  an  available  market  for  the  produc- 
tions of  the  loom,  or  the  artisan's  shop.  The  obvious  relief  from 
the  dilemma  was  a  railroad  which  should  connect  the  Golden  State 
with  the  densely  populated  cities  of  the  eastern  section  of  the 
country.  Strange  to  say,  it  was  Sacramento  county,  and  not  San 
Mateo,  which  took  the  initiative  in  the  movement.  Sacramento  had 
suffered  immensely  by  the  floods,  and  the  road  was  a  matter  of  life 
or  death  to  people  whose  only  hope  of  future  prosperity  was  a 
market  for  their  productions.  This  comparatively  poor  county 
subscribed  $300,000  to  the  road.  Leland  Stanford  was  prominent 
among  the  San  Franciscans  in  offering  aid  and  sympathy  to  the 
dwellers  in  the  valley ;  and  his  political  position  enabled  him  to 
give  effective  help  by  his  representations  to  Congress — for  it  was 
never  deemed  possible  that  private  enterprise  could  carry  through 
such  a  gigantic  work.  Subscriptions  were  made  to  show  the 
genuine  spirit  of  the  people,  but  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany could  have  gone  but  a  little  way  without  the  loan  of  the 
nation's  credit,  which  was  obtained  by  the  representations  of  such 
men  as  Leland  Stanford  ;  and  Congress  was  induced  to  advance 
the  enormous  sum  of  $25,885,000  to  the  projectors  of  the  western 
portion  of  this  transcontinental  road.  This  bill  was  pushed  through 
Congress  as  "a  war  measure,"  arid  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  how 
those  who  were  in  the  magic  circle  from  the  start  had  ample  oppor- 
tunities of  accumulating  immense  fortunes.  Mr.  Stanford  was  one 
of  these.  He  furnished  the  brains  of  the  company,  and  for  twenty 
years  was  one  of  the  leading  figures  in  it.  His  peculiar  genius 
enabled  him  to  use  both  political  parties  as  best  served  his  purpose; 
and  politics  was  intimately  mixed  with  the  management  of  the 
Central  Pacific,  just  as  it  was  with  the  Union  Pacific ;  the  railroad 
kings  on  each  side  of  the  continent  emerging  from  the  manage- 
ment with  colossal  fortunes,  and  some  of  them  with  untarnished 
names.  He  is  described  as  having  by  all  odds  the  strongest  face 
of  any  of  the  Central  Pacific  managers.  His  expression  is  a 


EX-GOVERNOR     LELAND     STANFORD.  355 

curiously  absorbing  one,  and  he  has  been  seen  to  sit  through  a 
roaring  farce  and  a  tragedy  the  same  evening,  without  the  slight- 
est gleam  of  interest  on  his  heavy  features. 

One  tangible  evidence  of  Mr.  Stanford's  wealth  is  the  handsome 
residence  which  the  ex-governor  has  erected  on  "  Nob  Hill,"  the 
crowning  elevation  at  the  head  of  California  street.  It  is  the  cost- 
liest house  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  stands  on  an  eminence  300 
feet  high — 220  feet  higher  than  Murray  Hill  in  New  York.  This 
hill  rises  very  abruptly  from  the  vicinity  of  Kearney  street,  and  is 
at  present  the  most  fashionable  site  for  palatial  residences.  A 
stranger  to  the  place  would  wonder  how  the  dwellers  on  this 
eminence  reached  their  domiciles ;  and  not  a  few  have  been  as 
perplexed  as  was  the  Chinaman,  when  he  saw  the  cars  ascending 
and  descending  without  any  visible  means  of  traction,  and  his  de- 
scription is  too  good  to  be  lost  in  the  ephemeral  literature  of  the 
periodical  press.  Standing  on  the  corner  of  Sansone  and  Cali- 
fornia streets,  he  thus  expressed  his  astonishment:  "Melican  man's 
wagon  no  pushee,  no  pullee ;  all  same,  go  top  side  hill  like 
flashee  !  "  Horses  can  ascend  Nob  Hill,  but  the  residents  habit- 
ually use  the  endless  cable  cars,  whose  machinery  is  out  of  sight 
of  the  casual  observer.  Mr.  Stanford's,  like  the  other  expensive 
mansions  on  Nob  Hill,  has  elaborate  and  costly  foundations,  or 
lower  stories  of  stone,  but  the  superstructures  are  of  wood.  This 
is  a  necessary  precaution  against  the  slight  shocks  of  earthquake 
with  which  that  region  is  not  infrequently  visited.  In  many  cases, 
the  terraced  approaches  to  these  elegant  residences  have  cost  as 
much  as  the  buildings ;  rocks  have  been  cut  through,  side  hills 
buttressed,  and  artificial  devices  to  make  the  approaches  corre- 
spond in  elegance  to  the  gorgeous  homes  of  the  railroad  kings, 
have  eventuated  in  the  expenditure  of  millions  of  dollars. 

Stanford's  mansion  is  surrounded  by  the  most  expensive  wall  in 
the  city.  The  rear  of  the  lot  is  fully  forty  feet  above  the  level  of 
Pine  street,  and  this  immense  mass  of  earth,  which  is  soaked  regu- 
larly every  day  with  water  to  keep  the  turf  green  and  fresh,  must 


356  EX-GOVERNOR     LELAND     STANFORD. 

be  held  up  by  the  great  wall.  It  is  built  of  granite  and  Angel 
Island  stone — hard  and  blue,  and  impervious  to  the  elements.  It 
is  of  great  thickness  at  the  base,  and  is  anchored  by  huge  iron 
girders,  which  are  riveted  into  the  solid  rock  of  the  hillside.  It  is 
only  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago  that  the  original  wall,  much  higher 
than  the  present  structure,  began  to  show  signs  of  weakening.  It 
was  torn  down,  and  the  present  wall,  reduced  in  height  and  greatly 
strengthened,  was  substituted  for  it.  The  place  now  looks  remote 
from  ordinary  human  interest,  and  this  impression  is  strengthened 
by  the  padlocked  gates  and  closely-drawn  blinds.  The  house  is 
deserted  about  ten  months  in  the  year,  and  generally  wears  the 
look  of  isolation  which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  marble  palace  of 
A.  T.  Stewart,  on  Fifth  avenue,  New  York. 

More  recently  Mr.  Stanford  has  come  to  New  York  city,  and 
his  business  office  is  on  the  eight-story  front  of  the  "  Mills  build- 
ing" on  Broad  street.  Not  many  of  our  millionaires  have  turned 
authors ;  but  ex-Governor  Stanford  is  virtually  the  author  of  a 
most  interesting  book  on  the  "Action  of  the  Horse  in  Motion," 
although  two  other  persons  took  a  share  in  its  production.  The 
origin  of  its  inception  is  as  follows :  While  in  California  about 
1870-71,  Mr.  Stanford  possessed  among  his  numerous  fine  horses 
a  remarkably  fast  trotter  named  Occident.  This  animal  had  a 
most  remarkable  stride,  twenty-three  to  twenty-three  and  a  half 
feet,  and  watching  this  extraordinary  animal,  his  owner  became 
convinced  that  at  certain  instants  the  entire  body  of  the  horse  was 
free  of  the  ground,  but  so  rapid  was  the  motion,  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult for  lookers-on  to  agree  as  to  the  fact.  In  1872  a  photograph- 
ist named  Muybridge  was  employed  by  Mrs.  Stanford  to  take 
views  of  the  house  and  grounds,  and  the  ex-governor  talked  with 
this  artist  as  to  the  possibility  of  taking  instantaneous  views  of 
moving  objects,  hoping  that  his  favorite  trotter  might  thus  be 
taken,  and  the  question  of  the  precise  action  of  "  the  horse  in  mo- 
tion "  be  demonstrated  on  the  photographer's  plate.  The  artist 
thought  it  could  not  be  done,  that  a  "  blur  would  be  the  only  re- 


EX-GOVERNOR     LELAND     STANFORD.  357 

suit."  Mr.  Stanford,  however,  insisted  that  with  the  very  best 
apparatus,  and  an  extremely  sensitive  plate,  that  the  thing-  was 
feasible  ;  and  he  offered  to  be  at  all  the  necessary  expense  to 
secure  such  improved  plate  and  camera. 

Among  the  other  ingenious  men  employed  in  the  car-shops  of 
the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Company  was  a  Mr.  Montague  and  a 
Mr.  Pruiere,  whom  Mr.  Stanford  engaged  to  assist  Mr.  Muybridge 
in  constructing  an  improved  instrument,  and  the  result  was  the 
taking  of  a  picture  of  a  horse  in  motion  in  about  the  fiftieth  part 
of  a  second.  The  picture  was  imperfect  and  somewhat  obscure, 
but  it  satisfied  Mr.  Stanford  that  the  horse  was  really  entirely  off 
the  ground  when  the  impression  was  taken  ;  but,  as  there  was  only 
one  instrument  used,  and  one  picture  obtained,  it  could  not  be  de- 
cided how  long  the  horse  remained  without  touching  the  ground. 

After  an  absence  from  California  of  several  years,  the  artist  re- 
turned to  the  Golden  State,  and  was  again  employed  on  the  Stan- 
ford estate,  taking  views  of  the  improvements  which  had  been 
made  ;  he  also  announced  that  when  in  London  he  had  learned 
that  very  highly-improved  cameras  had  been  made  there,  but 
being  very  expensive  he  had  not  provided  himself  with  one.  Mr. 
Stanford  then  authorized  him  to  send  to  London  and  procure  the 
very  best  at  his  expense.  This  was  done,  but  the  next  picture  of 
Occident  showed  a  different  position,  which,  however,  did  not  mili- 
tate against  Mr.  Stanford's  theory,  but  suggested  the  idea  to  the 
latter  that  a  series  of  cameras  should  be  used  to  give  the  entire 
action  of  a  horse  in  rapid  motion,  and  not  one  portion  of  the  gait 
only,  as  must  always  be  the  case  with  a  single  instrument,  and  he 
again  authorized  Mr.  Muybridge  to  procure  twelve  instruments. 
The  twelve  cameras  came,  and  were  so  perfectly  arranged  that  a 
view  was  taken  in  about  the  five-thousandth  part  of  a  second. 
Afterwards  twenty-four  cameras  were  used.  The  most  elaborate 
preparations  were  made  to  secure  absolute  perfection  ;  a  building 
was  specially  erected,  backgrounds  arranged  and  the  machinery 
to  control  the  operation,  so  as  to  ensure  the  cameras  doing  their 


•558  EX-GOVERNOR     LELAND     STANFORD. 

work  in  harmony,  was  carefully  adjusted.  On  testing  the  arrange- 
ment it  was  found  that  the  speed  of  the  clock-like  movement  was 
not  in  precise  accord  with  the  speed  of  the  animal,  and  Mr.  Stan- 
ford then  suggested  that  only  the  rapidity  of  electricity  would  be 
found  sufficient.  This  idea,  we  believe,  originated  with  Mr.  A.  N. 
Town,  a  well-known  judge  on  the  race-courses  of  the  West. 
Again  Mr.  Stanford  employed  Mr.  Muybridge  to  procure  the 
services  of  practical  electricians  to  assist  in  taking  the  pictures. 
To  measure  the  stride  of  the  horses,  both  in  running  and  trotting, 
and  other  purposes,  marked  boards,  measuring  feet  and  inches, 
were  laid  between  the  cameras  and  the  track.  All  the  experi- 
ments and  the  services  of  those  employed  were  made  at  the 
expense  of  the  ex-governor,  who  was  determined,  if  his  theory 
proved  correct,  to  give  the  results  to  the  world. 

When  Mr.  Stanford  had  definitely  made  up  his  mind  to  publish 
his  book,  he  employed  Dr.  Stillman  to  assist  him.  Several  horses 
were  killed  and  dissected  by  the  doctor  so  as  to  secure  perfectly 
accurate  illustrations  for  this  interesting  work,  which  was  really 
written  by  the  latter  under  the  inspiration  of  his  employer,  Mr. 
Muybridge  being  still  employed  to  take  photographs  under  Dr. 
Stillman's  direction.  The  machine  combining  the  twenty-four  cam- 
eras operated  by  electricity  was  called  a  "Zoopraxiscope."  This, 
though  the  combined  result  of  Mr.  Stanford's  ideas  and  consulta- 
tions with  several  others,  was  patented  in  the  name  of  Mr.  Muy- 
bridge at  the  ex-governor's  expense.  And,  to  further  protect  all 
of  this  artist's  rights,  he  allowed  him  to  have  an  interest  in  the  copy- 
right describing  it,  though  a  third  person  employed  by  Mr.  Stan- 
ford might  also  have  claimed  some  interest  in  it.  This  was  Mr. 
William  Hahn,  an  artist  from  Dusseldorf,  who  drew  from  the 
photographs  all  of  the  anatomical  pictures. 

This  book,  "  The  Horse  in  Motion,"  is  a  very  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  science.  It  is  a  large,  handsome  quarto,  containing  over 
one  hundred  full-page  illustrations,  some  of  the  pages  containing 
many  separate  figures  showing  the  position  of  the  limbs  and  the 


EX-GOVERNOR  LELAND  STANFORD.  359 

general  action  of  the  horse  (and  some  other  quadrupeds)  in  run- 
ning, trotting,  leaping,  walking,  etc.  These  are  a  most  curious 
study,  and  fully  confirm  Mr.  Stanford's  theory,  that,  both  in  run- 
ning and  trotting,  the  horse  is  occasionally  entirely  free  of  the 
ground,  a  fact  never  before  demonstrated,  though  sometimes  dis- 
cussed by  turfmen  and  others.  There  is  also  a  series  of  twelve 
colored  plates  showing  the  osseous  and  muscular  development  of 
the  horse.  These  pictures  were  executed  by  a  process  known  as 
photo-engraving.  Several  classes  of  persons  will  find  much 
matter  for  thought  in  this  volume,  but  to  none  has  the  revela- 
tions of  the  camera  been  so*  much  of  a  surprise  as  to  the  artist 
world.  One  famous  painter,  looking  critically  at  this  collec- 
tion of  horses  in  motion,  with  an  accent  of  deepest  chagrin  ex- 
claimed, "Why,  there  never  has  been  a  horse  painted  correctly 
since  the  world  began."  And,  in  fact,  he  was  nearly  right.  The 
conventional  horse  of  the  painter  bears  no  resemblance,  in  the 
action  of  its  limbs,  to  the  realistic  horse  of  the  camera.  The  ex- 
periments were  mostly  made  in  1878,  on  Mr.  Stanford's  private 
track  at  his  country  residence,  Palo  Alto,  in  California.  The  elec- 
tric current  was  applied  to  open  and  close  the  shutters  before  the 
cameras,  no  other  mode  being  found  quick  enough.  The  cameras 
were  placed  at  the  distance  of  twelve  inches  apart. 


MARSHALL   O.    ROBERTS. 

THE  elements  of  romance,  picturesqueness  or  the  astonishing 
are  all  lacking-  in  the  career  of  Mr.  Roberts.  His  was  not  a 
sudden  leap  from  poverty  to  wealth,  nor  does  his  early  career 
partake  of  the  marvellous  or  adventurous.  He  had  no  wild  frolics 
in  his  youth;  no  years  of  humble  toil,  like  many  of  our  California 
millionaires ;  in  fact,  there  has  been  nothing-  very  peculiar  in  his 
life,  to  distinguish  at  least  its  earlier  portion,  from  that  of  thou- 
sands of  business  men  throughout  the  country,  and  yet  the  name 
of  Marshall  O.  Roberts  was  one  distinguished  by  the  unanimous 
respect  of  the  community  far  above  that  of  the  great  majority  who 
started  out  in  life  on  an  apparently  equal  footing  with  himself. 
He  was  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  worth,  whose  death  was 
a  loss  to  the  community ;  a  man  whose  place  could  jiot  readily  be 
filled,  and  whose  steady,  progressive  prosperity  culminated  in  a 
fortune  approximating  to  $10,000,000.  Though  there  is  nothing 
startling  in  His  experiences,  it  may  yet  be  well  to  follow  the  steps 
by  which  he  attained  to  his  social  pre-eminence  and  pecuniary 
success.  His  early  years  were  surrounded  by  favorable  environ- 
ments. His  father  was  a  highly  respected  and  esteemed  physician, 
named  Owen  Roberts,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Wales  and 
settled  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1 798.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  his  youngest  son,  and  was  born  at  the  paternal  resi- 
dence in  Oliver  street  on  the  22d  of  March,  1814.  He  received 
a  good  education  and  would  have  been  sent  to  college,  his  father 
wishing  him  to  adopt  his  own  profession.  But  the  young  man's 
tastes  did  not  run  that  way;  he  ,  preferred  a  mercantile  life,  and 
after  leaving  school  engaged  as  a  clerk  with  a  grocer  in  Goenties 
slip  ;  shortly  after  he  secured  a  position  with  a  ship  chandler.  He 
(360) 


MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS.  361 

had  not  mistaken  his  vocation ;  he  took  an  interest  in  his  em- 
ployer's business ;  was  promptly  in  his  place,  active,  alert,  indus- 
trious, faithful  to  every  duty,  economical  and  careful  in  his  habits; 
a  shrewd  observer  too  of  all  the  people  he  had  to  deal  with ;  affable 
and  obliging,  he  made  friends  and  saved  money  at  the  same  time, 
so  that  even  before  he  was  of  age  he  found  himself  in  a  position 
to  start  in  business  for  himself — in  the  same  line  as  his  employer. 
But  the  ordinary  routine  and  profits  of  the  chandler's  shop  did 
not  fill  the  measure  of  his  mercantile  ambition,  and  two  years  later, 
in  1837,  he  bid  for  and  obtained  a  contract  to  supply  the  navy  de- 
partment with  oil— whale  oil  was  used  at  that  time  even  for  light- 
houses. He  did  well  with  this,  and  his  success  highly  encouraged 
him  to  seek  a  wider  sphere  for  his  future  operations.  Like  all 
the  successful  men  of  our  time,  we  might  add  of  any  age,  he  was 
not  afraid  of  new  ideas.  Steam  and  anthracite  coal  were  then 
coming  to  the  front  as  material  factors  in  the  commerce  of  the 
country,  and  Mr.  Roberts  decided  not  to  be  left  behind  in  making 
them  tenders  to  his  profit.  He  was  among  the  first  to  help  on 
the  new  era  of  "  palace  steamers  "  for  the  North  river,  building  one 
of  the  finest  boats  for  that  service,  which  was  long  and  favorably 
known  to  the  travelling  community  as  the  "  Hendrik  Hudson." 
From  steamboating  to  the  railroad  was  a  natural  transition,  and 
from  organizing  railroad  companies  to  an  interest  in  coal  mines 
was  an  almost  inevitable  sequence.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest 
friends  of  the  Erie  Railroad  and  did  much  to  help  forward  that 
great  work,  and  at  the  same  time  put  his  energies  into  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Scranton  coal  region,  with  such  good  judgment  and 
success  that  in  the  result  there  were  opened  new  vistas  of  profit  to 
his  discerning  and  prophetic  eye. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Roberts  was  in  close  friendly  and  business 
relations  with  Moses  Taylor — a  name  known  to  every  merchant 
of  New  York ;  and  these  two  friends,  with  other  allies,  perceiving 
that  the  great  coal  region  must  have  better  freighting  facilities 
to  connect  its  productions  with  the  future  consumers,  projected 


362  MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS. 

the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad,  and  time  has 
proved  the  wisdom  of  that  enterprise,  the  stock  of  that  railroad 
to-day  being  among  the  steadiest  and  best-paying  in  the  market. 
Other  roads,  as  feeders  to  this,  received  the  benefit  of  his  business 
talents  and  financial  aid.  With  their  various  projects  on  hand, 
he  had  long  previously  enlarged  his  original  business  into  that  of 
merchant  shipping ;  he  sent  out  cargoes  in  different  directions,  and 
with  such  a  just  idea  of  adaptation  to  the  different  markets  that 
his  investments  proved  almost  universally  successful  and  added 
largely  to  his  wealth.  No  sooner  had  the  new  trade  sprung  up 
with  the  settlers  on  the  Pacific  coast  than  Mr.  Roberts  was  ready 
to  take  a  hand  in  that  enterprise  also.  He  was  the  first  to  make 
a  contract  with  the  United  States  government  to  convey  the  mails 
to  California  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  With  him  were  asso- 
ciated in  this  enterprise  Messrs.  Prosper  M.  and  Robert  C.  Wet- 
more,  Howland,  Aspinwall,  George  Law  and  some  other  capitalists. 
This  company  was  known  as  the  "  United  States  Ship  Company," 
and  it  undertook  to  convey  the  mails  from  New  York  to  Aspin- 
wall, with  a  sub-arrangement  for  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Com- 
pany to  transfer  them  from  Panama  to  San  Francisco;  Mr.  Roberts 
was  a  heavy  stockholder  and  director,  George  Law  being  made 
president.  This  arrangement  continued  for  four  years,  when  Mr. 
Roberts  secured  a  controlling  interest  in  the  stock ;  Mr.  Law  with- 
drew, and  the  former  was  chosen  president.  Of  course  other  com- 
mercial interests  were  combined  with  this  mail  service.  Another 
line  of  steamers  was  created  as  aids  to  this  main  enterprise,  ply- 
ing between  New  Orleans,  Havana  and  Aspinwall.  Quite  a  fleet 
of  steamers  was  built,  large  sea-going  vessels,  which  were  after- 
wards destined  to  patriotic  uses  by  the  course  of  events  a  few 
years  later.  It  was  this  combination  which  Commodore  Vander- 
bilt  attacked,  and  finally  forced  to  sell  out — an  account  of  which  is 
given  elsewhere. 

Mr.  Roberts  having  withdrawn  from  the  "  Pacific  Mail "  enter- 
prise, found  himself  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  with  a  number 


MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS.  363 

of  these  fine  large  steamers  on  his  hands.  He  did  not  hesitate; 
clearness  of  vision  as  to  present  circumstances  and  the  near  future, 
with  prompt  decisive  action,  was  a  marked  characteristic  of  the 
man.  There  was  no  doubt  in  his  mind  what  course  to  take ; 
loyal  to  the  core,  he  also  had  that  prescience  which  indicated  to 
him  the  patriotic  course  would  in  the  end  prove  the  paying  course. 
His  first  action  was  highly  commendable.  When  Fort  Sumter 
was  assailed  by  the  Confederates,  and  Major  Anderson  with  the 
United  States  troops  was  besieged  and  in  want  of  supplies,  Mr. 
Roberts  fitted  up  his  steamer  the  "Star  of  the  West"  with  pro- 
visions and  sent  to  their  relief.  That  the  commander  was  unable 
to  execute  his  commission  does  not  detract  from  the  good  inten- 
tion of  Mr.  Roberts.  A  still  more  munificent  act  was  his  raising 
at  his  own  expense  one  thousand  men,  which  he  sent  in  his  fine 
steamer  the  "America"  to  Fortress  Monroe  to  reinforce  the  gar- 
rison there.  These  generous  gifts  naturally  propitiated  the  gov- 
ernment and  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Roberts  had  many 
steamers  to  dispose  of,  and  as  the  United  States  was  sadly  in 
need  of  transport  vessels  a  market  was  soon  found  for  them,  and 
the  advantage  was  mutual.  Mr.  Robots  also  showed  his  desire 
to  sustain  the  government  in  another  practical  way,  and  which 
some  persons  at  that  period  thought  a  great  risk,  by  purchasing  a 
large  quantity  of  United  States  bonds  when  below  par  (at  90)  ; 
but  in  this,  too,  good  feeling  and  good  •judgment  were  combined  ; 
the  shrewd  Stephen  Girard  of  Philadelphia  did  the  same  thing 
when  the  government  was  in  a  far  more  desperate  strait,  during 
the  war  of  1812-14. 

But  perhaps  there  has  been  no  public  enterprise  which  required 
in  its  projectors  more  of  the  elements  of  faith,  perseverance  and 
courage,  than  that  of  laying  the  Atlantic  cable.  When  this  grand 
work  was  first  mooted  of  course  there  was  no  experience  (on  so 
large  a  scale)  by  which  the  company  could  be  guided.  Science 
was  certain  of  its  theory,  but  in  practice  what  obstacles  might  not 
arise  ?  How  much  time  and  money  must  necessarily  be  expended 


364  MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS. 

in  experiments  !  and  then,  would  it  ever  pay  ?  That  is  the  ques- 
tion, on  the  probabilities  of  which  every  business  man  says  "Yes" 
or  "  No ; "  we  have  said  Mr.  Roberts  was  never  afraid  of  new  ideas, 
and  this  one  of  immediate  communication  with  the  Old  World 
struck  him  favorably.  So  the  question,  would  it  pay  ?  He  had 
only  to  recall  his  own  experience,  and,  remembering  the  numer- 
ous occasions  when,  as  shipping  merchant  and  on  other  business 
matters,  it  would  have  been  to  his  interest  to  have  paid  large  sums 
for  early  advices  as  to  the  state  of  foreign  markets,  he  naturally 
concluded  that  other  merchants  and  financiers  must  have  had  simi- 
lar experiences.  Here  then  was  a  whole  class  who  would  use  the 
cable?  In  addition,  there  was  the  increase  in  immigration,  which 
formed  one  favorable  factor,  and  still  more,  the  fashion  of  Ameri- 
can travel  to  Europe,  which  would  make  the  cable  something  more 
than  a  luxury — a  necessity.  In  brief,  Mr.  Roberts  went  heart  and 
soul  into  the  enterprise  of  connecting  the  two  hemispheres  by  the 
sensitive  electric  cord ;  and  if  the  first  experiment  was  a  stunning 
disappointment,  and  other  disasters  followed,  these  only  stimulated 
him  and  his  more  prominent  co-workers  to  overcome  the  difficul- 
ties ;  and  it  eventually  paid.  It  is  the  men  of  quiet  courage  who 
have  everywhere  subdued  nature,  and  wrought  the  miracles  of 
modern  civilization. 

The  next  object  of  importance  which  occupied  the  thought  and 
energies  of  Mr.  Roberts*  was  the  building  of  the  Texas  Pacific 
Railroad,  and  in  this  he  was  associated  with  the  well-known  Colo- 
nel Thomas  A.  Scott.  In  this  project  he  put  nearly  $2,000,000 ; 
then,  at  the  other  end  of  the  Union,  in  the  North,  and  even  in 
Canada,  he  had  large  interests  in  other  roads.  After  close  in- 
vestigation we  have  found  no  record  of  his  judgment  being  at 
fault  in  any  of  these  investments.  He  had  a  sagacity  for  business 
affairs  amounting  almost  to  the  surety  of  instinct.  In  addition  to 
all  these  other  interests,  Mr.  Roberts  was  also  a  large  owner  of 
real  estate,  his  property  of  this  kind  lying  in  the  most  fashionable 
part  of  the  city. 


MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS.  365 

In  politics  Mr.  Roberts  had  not  the  same  success  as  in  business. 
Commencing  life  as  an  ardent  adherent  of  the  Whig  party,  he 
possessed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  its  most  eminent  leaders, 
and  in  national  affairs  he  often  sat  in  confidential  council  with 
Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  and  more  particularly  those  Whig 
statesmen  prominent  in  his  own  State.  It  is  said  that  his  name 
was  frequently  proposed  for  public  nominations,  but  that  he  almost 
always  declined  to  permit  it  to  be  used,  though  on  two  occasions 
hd  did,  and  was  defeated.  But  in  this  connection  we  may  mention 
that  two  of  his  earliest  and  most  familiar  friends,  the  brothers 
Wetmore,  were  very  successful  in  politics ;  one  of  these  was  a 
Democrat  and  one  a  Whig,  so  that  either  the  one  or  the  other  was 
usually  in  office.  It  was  under  the  administration  of  President 
Tyler  that  one  of  the  Wetmores  was  naval  officer  of  the  port  of 
New  York,  and  gave  to  young  Roberts  a  very  profitable  contract 
for  furnishing  the  supplies  needed  in  that  department ;  and  this 
may  be  said  to  have  been  the  starting-point  from  which  his  future 
fortune  was  made.  It  was  in  1853  that  Mr.  Roberts  permitted 
himself  to  be  nominated  for  Congress,  by  the  then  moribund  Whig 
party ;  that  he  was  beaten  by  the  'Democratic  candidate  was  no 
fault  of  his ;  probably  no  other  Whig  would  have  had  any  better 
chance  of  election  at  that  period.  After  the  dissolution  of  the 
Whig  party  Mr.  Roberts  naturally  gravitated  towards  the  "  Free 
Soil "  faction,  which  finally  developed  into  the  "  Republican  "  party; 
and  when  the  first  National  Convention  of  the  adherents  of  the 
latter  were  called  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  in  1856,  he  was  present 
as  a  delegate.  This  convention  nominated  John  C.  Fremont  for 
the  Presidency.  During  the  civil  war  Mr.  Roberts  was  a  per- 
sonal friend  of  President  Lincoln,  and,  as  has  been  narrated,  made 
every  effort  to  sustain  the  Administration.  WThen  the  assassina- 
tion of  President  Lincoln  occurred,  he  immediately  forwarded  his 
check  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  for  $10,000,  which  was  his  part  toward  the 
fund  of  $100,000  which  the  merchants  of  New  York  proposed  to 
raise  for  her  benefit. 


^66  MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS. 

It  was  in  1865  that  Mr.  Roberts  was  nominated  for  Mayor  of 
New  York ;  the  time  was  unfortunate,  as,  instead  of  one  antagon- 
ist, he  had  to  contend  against  three,  of  which  John  S.  Hoffman,  a 
very  popular  politician,  was  one.  Mr.  Roberts  was  the  candidate 
of  what  was  known  as  the  "  Union  "  party  in  local  politics,  and  was 
also  indorsed  by  the  "War  Democrats."  Mr.  John  Hecker  was 
nominated  by  the  Citizens'  Association,  and  Mr.  C.  G.  Gunther  by 
another  faction,  the  McKeon  Democracy,  while  Mr.  Hoffman  rep- 
resented the  old-time  "  Bourbon "  Democracy,  and  proved  the 
winning  man.  Yet  the  result  showed  very  plainly  the  high  estima- 
tion in  which  Mr.  Roberts  was  held  by  his  fellow-citizens.  The 
total  number  of  votes  cast  at  this  election  was  80,523,  of  which  Mr. 
Hoffman  received  32,945;  Mr.  Roberts,  31,611;  Mr.  Hecker, 
10,170,  and  Mr.  Gunther,  5,797.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  while 
Mr.  Roberts  only  fell  short  some  thirteen  hundred  votes  of  an 
election,  two  of  his  opponents  combined  did  not  equal  his  con- 
stituents by  14,743.  Politics  was  not  Marshall  O.  Roberts'  role. 
He  never  could  adapt  himself  to  the  part  or  demean  himself  to 
the  practices  which  sometimes  appear  necessary  to  conciliate  cer- 
tain portions  of  the  voting  population  of  New  York ;  but  he  was 
sustained  even  on  this  occasion,  by  what  we  are  accustomed  to  call 
the  "best  people."  That  he  was  not  an  expert  in  ferreting  out 
the  tergiversations  of  the  scheming,  unscrupulous  politicians  who 
formed  the  "  Tweed  Ring  "  in  New  York,  must  be  presumed  from 
the  fact,  that  he  was  one  of  those  who  signed  the  "whitewashing" 
report  on  Controller  Connelly,  when  that  official's  accounts  were 
investigated,  just  previous  to  the  fall  election  of  1870.  His  truest 
life  was  in  his  business  transactions,  but  it  was  not  all  of  his  life ; 
he  was  a  generous  patron  of  art,  and  in  the  family  and  social  life 
considered  a  model  man.  In  addition  to  all  the  other  enterprises 
and  forms  of  business  with  which  he  was  identified,  Mr,  Roberts 
acted  for  many  years  as  President  of  the  North  River  Bank,  of 
New  York. 

From  his  earliest  youth  he  delighted  in  pictures,  but  during  the 


MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS.  367 

first  half  of  his  life  there  was  comparatively  little  which  could  be 
called  true  art  in  this  country,  and  the  importation  of  foreign  paint- 
ings was  in  very  unreliable  hands ;  hence,  our  amateurs  in  New 
York,  who  trusted  to  the  great  names  with  which  foreign  pictures 
were  almost  invariably  labelled,  were  often  sadly  imposed  upon. 
But  Marshall  O.  Roberts  was  not  of  this  class ;  he  did  not  buy 
pictures  on  account  of  their  indorsement  by  dealers,  but  he  bought 
what  pleased  his  own  eye — what  gave  him  pleasure  ;  hence,  if  in 
his  first  essays  he  did  not  always  select  a  picture  which  would 
meet  the  approval  of  the  experienced  connoisseur,  he  was  at  least 
not  deceived,  it  suited  him,  and  that  was  enough ;  but,  by  the  time 
he  was  located  in  his  fine  residence  on  Fifth  avenue  (two  large 
houses  combined),  his  taste  had  improved  by  experience,  and  the 
facilities  for  procuring  really  fine  paintings  were  greatly  enhanced ; 
while  native  talent,  which  he  really  liked  best  to  patronize,  was 
developing  with  rapid  strides.  He  had  for  many  years  before  his 
death  one  of  the  most  valuable  collections  in  the  city,  the  number 
in  his  gallery  being  over  300,  and  its  estimated  value  over 
$750,000.  Mr.  Roberts  bought  his  pictures  to  keep  and  to  enjoy; 
he  never  had  the  idea  paramount  with  so  many  connoisseurs,  of 
buying  paintings  on  speculation,  and  waiting  for  a  rise  in  their 
value  to  sell  again.  •  Some  specimens  of  his  collection  have  been 
purchased  to  oblige  a  needy  artist,  for  it  was  very  difficult  for  him 
to  refuse  appeals  of  this  sort ;  and  it  is  well  to  remember,  that  if 
an  artist  is  poor,  it  does  not  follow  that  his  work  is.  Mr.  Roberts 
looked  upon  his  pictures  as  he  did  upon  his  friends,  and  took  a 
real  human  interest  in  them.  On  more  than  one  occasion  he  has 
been  advised  to  "weed  out"  his  gallery,  but  he  was  too  much 
attached  to  his  pictures  to  think  of  this;  they  all  had  a  history,  and 
some  had  become  very  dear  souvenirs  of  the  old  days  when  he 
was  not  a  millionaire.  He  himself  said  of  some  of  his  early  pur- 
chases :  "  They  are  to  me  like  old  friends,  some  of  whom  have  not 
been  successful  in  life;  but  I  do  not  therefore  disown  them.  I  like 
them  to  come  and  see  me,  even  if  they  are  shabby,  and  there  are 


^68  MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS. 

shabby  pictures  that  I  like  too  ;  I  shall  never  sell  them."  But  the 
latter-day  pictures  are  not  of  this  class.  The  very  best  of  the 
American  and  foreign  art  have  a  place  by  the  side  of  these  "  shabby 
old  friends,"  and  perhaps  nothing  better  than  this  regard  for  his 
early  selections  shows  to  advantage  the  essential  qualities  of  the 
man,  who  has  no  sham  about  him ;  and  whose  old  friends,  even  if 
not  successful  financially,  could  rely  with  perfect  confidence  that 
they  would  not  be  cast  aside  in  favor  of  some  pretentious  parvenu. 
Mr.  Roberts  was  most  liberal  to  the  public  in  the  use  of  his  gal- 
lery, permission  to  visit  it  being  freely  accorded  to  any  who 
applied.  He  was  equally  free  in  loaning  them  for  public  exhibi- 
tions, for  charitable  or  festival  purposes.  American  artists  lost 
an  appreciative  and  generous  patron  when  Marshall  O.  Roberts 
died,  and  could  visit  their  studios  no  more.  In  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  he  took  great  interest,  and  we  believe  contributed  to  all 
of  its  "  Loan  Exhibitions."  At  the  time  of  his  death,  several  of 
his  choicest  and  most  valuable  pictures,  both  foreign  and  American, 
adorned  its  walls. 

Mr.  Roberts  was  a  member  of  the  Union  League  Club,  which 
he  joined  principally  from  motives  of  patriotism  when  it  was  first 
organized;  but  he  was  not  a  habitue  of  that,  or  any  club;  his  tastes 
were  essentially  domestic,  and  his  pleasure  was  found  at  home. 
He  was  thrice  married.  His  first  wife,  whom  he  married  early  in 
life,  was  a  retiring  lady,  of  whom  society  saw  little.  His  second 
wife  was  the  widow  of  Mr.  Irving  Van  Wart,  of  Hartford,  Conn. 
She  was  a  refined  and  accomplished  woman,  particularly  active  in 
schemes  of  Christian  benevolence  and  charity.  Through  her 
efforts  mainly  was  organized  those  two  excellent  societies  in  New 
York  city,  the  Women's  Christian  Association,  and  the  Home  for 
Working  Girls,  and  to  place  this  on  firm  basis,  Mr.  Roberts  do- 
nated $40,000.  He  was  equally  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  his 
third  wife,  who  still  survives  him.  She  was  a  Miss  Endicott,  a 
direct  descendant  of  Governor  Endicott,  of  Massachusetts — one 
of  the  original  "Mayflower"  stock.  This  lady  is  also  active  in 


MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS.  369 

every  good  word  and  work,  and  an  ornament  of  society.  Mr. 
Roberts  left  four  children — a  son  and  daughter  by  the  first  wife,  a 
daughter  by  the  second  wife,  and  a  young  son  by  the  last. 

The  will  which  disposed  of  so  large  a  property  was  anxiously 
looked  for,  and  scanned  by  various  associations  which  hoped  to 
profit  by  bequests.  These,  however,  proved  to  be  small  in  com- 
parison with  the  liberal  manner  in  which  he  donated  money  in  his 
lifetime.  The  great  bulk  of  his  property  went  to  his  immediate 
family.  To  his  wife,  he  left  his  extensive  mansion  on  Fifth  avenue 
and  Eighteenth  street,  and  an  income  of  $40,000  annually.  To 
his  eldest  son  and -daughter,  and  the  daughter  of  his  second  wife 
(Mrs.  Ames  Van  Wart),  he  bequeathed  an  income  of  $12,000  a 
year ;  while  a  codicil  gives  to  the  young  son  of  his  widow  a  pro- 
vision of  $6,000  per  annum  after  he  shall  have  attained  his  fifteenth 
year,  and  $12,000  per  annum  after  attaining  his  majority;  he  is 
also  made  the  residuary  legatee.  The  sum  of  $14,000  was  left  in 
legacies  to  various  religious  and  charitable  societies,  including  one 
to  the  Calvary  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  wor- 
shipped during  the  latter  years  of  his  life  ;  for  many  years  pre- 
viously he  was  an  attendant  at  the  Broadway  Tabernacle. 

Mr.  Roberts  had  attained  the  age  of  sixty-six  years  the  -  spring 
before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1880  at  Saratoga,  where  he 
was  spending  part  of  the  season  with  several  members  of  his 
family.  He  suffered  an  attack  of  apoplexy,  which  he  survived 
only  a  few  days.  His  funeral,  which  took  place  in  New  York 
city,  was  attended  by  the  most  eminent  persons,  both  from  social 
circles  and  political  ranks ;  the  venerable  Peter  Cooper  (since  de- 
ceased) and  the  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts  were  among  the  dis- 
tinguished pall-bearers.  Seldom  has  New  York  witnessed  a  more 
numerous  gathering  of  men  of  solid  worth  than  on  this  occasion. 
Many  men  have  strongly  attached  friends  who  have  also  bitter 
enemies,  but,  in  regard  to  Mr.  Roberts,  there  appears  to  have 
been  no  dissentient  voices.  His  worth  was  universally  recognized, 
and  his  public  spirit,  private  charities  and  unostentatious  life  re- 
24 


370  MARSHALL    O.    ROBERTS. 

ceived  full  recognition  from  all  sources.  Even  in  what  some  would 
think  an  unimportant  matter  as  a  test  of  character,  his  friend, 
President  Arthur,  found  occasion  to  eulogize  him ;  he  said :  "  I 
have  known  him  and  his  family  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  have  always  admired,  not  only  his  business  ability,  his  charita- 
ble disposition,  and  the  good  old  Whig  and  true  Republican 
principles  which  he  so  zealously  espoused,  but  also,  that  at  election 
times  he  always  came  promptly  forward,  imasked,  and  deposited  his 
generous  contribution"  Could  a  politician's  praise  be  more  em- 
phatic ? 

In  reviewing  the  life  of  Mr.  Roberts,  the  query  arises,  What  it 
was  in  the  mental  composition  of  the  man  which  enabled  him  to 
outstrip  in  the  race  of  life  so  many  of  his  early  friends  and  fellow- 
citizens  who  started  with  equally  good  prospects  at  the  same 
period  of  time?  They  enjoyed  the  same  general  advantages  which 
he  possessed,  and  he  was  subjected  to  the  same  fluctuations  in 
trade — the  "  good  "  and  the  "  bad  "  times,  etc. — in  which  all  others 
participated.  In  considering  this  point,  we  find  a  partial  explana- 
tion at  least  in  this  fact,  that  he  possessed  one  characteristic  which 
is  an  integral  part  of  the  composition  of  all  of  our  successful 
men  ;  namely,  the  ability  to  grasp  several  subjects  at  once  without 
confusion  or  distraction  of  mind.  He  had  what  we  may  call  an 
expansive  brain-power,  which  can  take  in  all  the  necessary  details 
of  foreign  commerce,  of  railroad  projects,  or  other  financial 
schemes,  without  overtaxing  the  nervous  system.  Those  who 
cannot  bear  the  strain  give  way,  and  those  who  can  succeed. 
Another  element  which  Mr.  Roberts  possessed  was  good  physical 
health,  and  this  will  be  found  in  nearly  every  case  among  our 
eminently  successful  men,  who  are  either  natural  stalwarts,  or  else 
lithe,  wiry  men  like  Jay  Gould,  with  nerves  of  steel  and  not  over- 
burdened with  the  emotional  sentiments. 


JOHN   F.  SLATER. 

THE  name  of  Slater  is  indelibly  connected  with  the  manufactur- 
ing interests  of  New  England — we  may  say  with  the  whole  country, 
for  to  the  ancestors  of  the  present  John  F.  Slater  is  due  in  very 
great  measure  the  enormous  development  of  the  cotton-spinning 
and  weaving  interest  in  the  United  States.  Mr.  Samuel  Slater,  an 
uncle  of  the  modern  philanthropist,  was  a  native  of  Derbyshire, 
England,  where  he  learned  the  art  of  cotton-spinning  from  a 
partner  of  the  famous  inventor,  Arkwright.  He  came  to  this 
country  in  1789,  and,  learning  that  an  attempt  was  being  made  in 
Providence  to  introduce  the  manufacture  here,  but  that,  through 
imperfect  machinery,  it  had  hitherto  proved  a  failure,  he  sought 
out  the  principal  operators,  Messrs.  Almy  &  Brown,  and  entered 
into  an  engagement  with  them  to  perfect  their  machinery  and 
oversee  the  work.  This  he  accomplished,  although  he  had  brought 
with  him  neither  models  nor  drawings,  calling  alone  on  his  native 
genius  and  his  retentive  memory  to  reproduce  the  machinery  in 
use  by  Arkwright.  He  also  added  many  improvements  of  his 
own.  Three  years  later  he  erected  a  mill  on  his  own  account  at 
Pawtucket,  Rhode  Island,  and  afterwards  another  at  Cumberland. 

In  1803  his  brother  John  followed  him  to  this  country.  He 
brought  with  him  all  the  latest  knowledge  of  improved  machinery 
in  England,  including  the  newly-invented  Crompton  mule,  which, 
with  the  recent  introduction  of  the  spinning-jenny  and  power- 
loom,  gave  a  wonderful  impetus  to  the  production  of  cotton-cloth 
in  New  England.  In  1833  the  two  Slater  brothers  bought  out 
Almy  &  Brown,  with  whom  they  had  been  in  partnership,  and 
established  mill-works  on  land  which  they  had  bought  about 

(370 


372  JOHN     F.    SLATER. 

thirteen  miles  north  of  Providence.  This  was  the  nucleus  of  the 
future  manufacturing  town,  since  become  famous  as  a  centre  of 
cotton-weaving,  known  as  Slaterville.  Here  the  elder  John  Slater 
lived  until  his  death,  in  1843.  He  and  his  brother  had  long  before 
bought  out  another  cotton-mill  in  the  township  of  Griswold,  Con- 
necticut, since  re-baptized  under  the  name  of  Jewett  City.  John 
also  owned  similar  property  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Hopeville. 
While  Samuel  Slater  was  the  practical  founder  of  the  flourishing 
town  of  Webster,  Massachusetts,  which  is  composed  of  three 
manufacturing  villages,  started  into  life  by  his  enterprise,  he  was 
the  first  person  in  the  world  to  manufacture  cotton  sewing-thread, 
linen  thread  having  been  previously  used.  He  also  established  the 
famous  Amoskeag  mills  in  New  Hampshire.  His  only  surviving  son, 
Horatio,  has  added  the  manufacture  of  woollens  to  that  of  cottons. 
John  Slater  left  three  children:  John  F.,  born  in  1812,  and  the 
subject  of  this  sketch ;  William  S.,  now  President  of  the  Worces- 
ter and  Providence  railroad,  and  a  daughter.  The  boys  were 
thoroughly  trained  to  a  knowledge  of  the  mill  business,  to  which 
John  F.  early  proved  himself  an  adept.  Before  he  was  of  age,  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  mill  at  Jewett  City,  and  in  this  almost 
exclusively  manufacturing  village  he  resided,  entirely  devoted  to 
business  until  1840,  when  he  removed  to  Norwich,. which  continued 
henceforth  to  be  his  permanent  home.  After  the  death  of  his 
father,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother,  William  S.,  con- 
tinuing to  run  the  mills  at  Hopeville  and  Jewett  City,  subsequently 
buying  up  the  mill  property  of  their  uncle  Samuel's  heirs,  and 
greatly  extending  the  business  at  Slaterville.  The  partnership  of 
the  brothers  continued  until  1872,  when  they  divided  their  interests, 
John  F.  retaining  the  control  at  Jewett  City,  and  that  which  he  had 
separately  organized  with  Edward  P.  Taft  and  others  on  the  She- 
tucket  river,  near  Norwich ;  this  latter  company  was  incorporated 
in  1869,  with  a  capital  of  $1,500,000,  and  of  this  Mr.  John  F.  Slater 
was  elected  president,  which  office  he  still  holds;  he  is  also  one  of 
the  heaviest  stock-holders.  This  company  built  a  new  mill  called 


JOHN     F.    SLATER.  373 

the  Ponemah,  in  which  the  machinery  was  started  in  November, 
1871.  The  Slater  cotton-mills  were  all  built  in  a  peculiar  manner, 
being  only  one  story  in  height,  but  of  immense  length,  so  that  at 
first  glance  one  might  take  them  for  ropewalks.  This  Ponemah 
mill  was  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  and  under  no  other  single 
roof  is  there  so  much  cotton  goods  made  anywhere  in  the  country. 
The  class  of  goods  which  is  manufactured  there  includes  percales, 
Victoria  lawns,  Nainsook  checks  and  stripes,  and  ordinary  plain 
muslins. 

Mr.  Slater  undoubtedly  inherited  a  wonderful  talent  for  under- 
standing and  operating  machinery ;  there  was  no  part  of  the  pro- 
cess of  reducing  raw  cotton  into  a  serviceable  textile  fabric  that  he 
did  not  thoroughly  understand,  and  one  of  his  prominent  charac- 
teristics was  the  attention  which  he  bestowed  upon  little  things ; 
it  was  the  "  little  imperfections,"  which  many  others  would  have 
overlooked,  which  he  said  made  the  difference  between  first-class 
and  second-class  "  cuts."  He  wanted  no  second-class  in  any  of  his 
departments.  For  over  half  a  century  Mr.  Slater  has  been  iden- 
tified with  the  manufacturing  interests  of  New  England,  and  from 
the  successful  prosecution  of  the  cotton-cloth  industry  the  bulk 
of  his  fortune  was  made,  but  he  availed  himself  of  other  sources ; 
for  many  years  has  dealt  freely  in  railroad  and  other  stocks,  and 
for  years  has  been  accounted  the  largest  holder  of  such  securities 
in  the  State.  He  has  been  frequently  elected  director  of  different 
railroads,  but  has  always  declined  to  accept,  not  looking  upon  such 
a  position  as  a  merely  nominal  honor,  but  as  involving  practical 
duties,  which  he  felt  he  had  not  the  time  to  fulfil. 

In  the  spring  of  1882  Mr.  Slater  made  known  his  intention  of 
devoting  a  solid  million  of  dollars  towards  the  education  of  the 
colored  race  at  the  South ;  but  he  may  be  said  to  have  contem- 
plated this  step  ever  since  the  conclusion  of  the  war.  Realizing 
the  menace  to  society  by  the  admission  of  a  recently  servile  race 
to  the  privilege  of  the  franchise,  and  equality  before  the  law,  if  they 
remained  in  ignorance,  and  likewise  appreciating  the  fact  that  all 


374  J°HN     F-    SLATER. 

the  appliances  for  their  instruction  and  elevation  as  yet  inaugurated 
were  utterly  insufficient,  and  stimulated  by  the  noble  example  of 
George  Peabody,  he  consulted  with  some  of  his  old  friends,  those 
best  capable  of  advising  in  such  a  matter ;  and  of  these  friends, 
most  of  them  were  eventually  designated  as  trustees  of  the  fund. 
The  instructions  to  the  Trustees  of  the  John  F.  Slater  Fund  were 
drawn  up,  and  signed  by  Mr.  Slater  on  the  4th  of  March,  1882. 
The  following  are  the  names  of  the  original  trustees :  Rutherford 
B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio;  Morrison  E.  Waite,  District  of  Columbia;  Wil- 
liam E.  Dodge,  New  York ;  Phillips  Brooks,  Massachusetts ; 
Daniel  C.  Oilman,  Maryland ;  John  A.  Stewart,  New  York  ;  Al- 
fred H.  Colquitt,  Georgia.;  Morris  K.  Jessup,  New  York ;  James 
P.  Boyce,  Kentucky,  and  William  A.  Slater,  Connecticut.  The 
latter  is  the  son  of  the  donor,  and  William  E.  Dodge  having  de- 
ceased, his  son,  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  was  substituted  as  a  trustee. 
The  letter  addressed  to  the  trustees,  relating  to  the  application  of 
the  fund,  by  Mr.  Slater,  after  reciting  the  object  of  its  creation  to 
be  "the  uplifting  of  the  lately  emancipated  population  of  the 
Southern  States,  by  conferring  upon  them  the  blessings  of  Chris- 
tian education,"  proceeds  to  indicate  that  the  best  mode  to  accom- 
plish this  is  in  the  training  of  teachers,  from  among  and  of  the  race 
to  be  benefited.  The  official  act,  however,  leaves  the  trustees  a 
large  liberty  in  the  choice  of  means,  but  gives  the  not  unnecessary 
warning  that,  as  endowments  sometimes  tend  to  discourage  self- 
reliance  on  the  part  of  beneficiaries,  or  become  a  convenience  to 
the  rich  instead  of  a  help  to  the  poor,  Mr.  Slater  writes:  "I  solemnly 
charge  my  trustees  to  use  their  best  wisdom  in  preventing  any 
such  defeat  of  the  spirit  of  this  trust !  "  Mr.  Slater  was  a  far- 
seeing  and  wise  man.  He  realized  the  possible  change  of  the 
conditions  of  society,  and  therefore  introduced  a  clause,  enabling 
the  trustees  to  change  their  methods  of  application  after  the  lapse 
of  thirty-five  years.  But  the  fund  was  not  to  be  diverted  from  the 
benefit  of  the  colored  race.  It  was  also  his  expressed  wish  that 
no  sectional  or  sectarian  spirit  should  mar  the  usefulness  of  his 


JOHN     F.    SLATER.  375 

gift,  and  finally,  he  acknowledges  in  this  remarkable  document, 
that  he  was  encouraged  in  bestowing  this  charitable  foundation, 
by  the  eminent  success  of  the  administration  of  the  Peabody  Edu- 
cation Fund. 

Some  surprise  was  expressed  that  Mr.  Slater  should  desire  to 
have  the  act  of  incorporation  passed  by  the  New  York  Assembly, 
rather  than  by  that  of  his  native  State  of  Connecticut,  and  he  gave 
no  reason  for  this,  except  that  New  York  was  the  great  financial 
centre  of  the  country,  and  that  three  of  the  trustees  were  residents 
of  it.  The  bill  was  introduced  in  the  assembly  at  Albany  by  the 
Hon.  A.  M.  Patterson ;  the  only  opposition  expected  was  to  the 
last  'clause  of  the  first  section,  which  says :  "And  the  said  fund 
shall  be  exempt  from  taxation  of  any  and  every  nature."  Of 
course  there  was  a  little  flurry  in  the  lobby,  by  those  anxious  to 
see  if  anything  could  be  made  out  of  this  large  trust  fund,  but  the 
known  character  of  the  gentlemen  concerned,  dispelled  such  hopes 
almost  as  soon  as  formed,  and  no  formidable  opposition  was  raised. 
On  the  1 2th  of  April,  1882,  the  bill  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Charitable  Institutions,  was  by  them  reported  on  favorably,  was 
passed  by  both  houses,  and  received  the  signature  of  the  governor. 
It  must  have  been  very  gratifying  to  Mr.  Slater  to  learn,  that 
very  shortly  after  the  passage  of  the  act  at  Albany,  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  then  in  session  at  Washington,  passed  a  resolu- 
tion, thanking  "John  F.  Slater  for  his  gift  of  $1,000,000  for  the 
purpose  of  educating  the  colored  people  of  the  South." 

Mr.  Slater  still  lives  to  enjoy  the  consciousness  of  the  great  good 
his  gift  has  already  begun  to  accomplish.  The  fund  has  been  well 
invested,  and  on  October  5th,  1882,  only  six  months  after  the  pas- 
sage of  the  act,  the  finance  committee  of  the  trustees  reported  that 
the  income  would  net  between  $50,000  and  $60,000  per  annum. 

A  correspondence  was  opened  throughout  the  South,  addressed 
to  the  best  informed  persons  on  the  subject  of  education  among 
the  colored  people,  and  from  responses  to  these  letters  and  other 
information,  the  schools  and  pupils  to  receive  a  share  of  the  fund 


376  JOHN     F.    SLATER. 

was  agreed  upon,  the  distribution  of  the  income  taking  place  at  the 
commencement  of  the  school  year  in  1883. 

John  F.  Slater  is  in  personal  appearance  a  tall,  well-proportioned 
man,  carrying  himself  with  something  of  a  military  bearing;  he 
maintains  the  old  fashion  of  a  smoothly-shaven  chin,  but  wears 
short  gray  whiskers  ;  it  is  not  easy  to  think  of  him  as  an  old  man, 
although  he  has  passed  his  seventh  decade.  He  lives  in  a  large 
comfortable  mansion  on  "  the  .plains,"  just  beyond  the  hills,  which 
cluster  about  the  head  of  the  river  Thames — a  short  and  pleasant 
drive  from  the  business  centre  of  Norwich.  The  house  stands  on 
elevated  ground,  which  is  reached  by  a  circuitous  path  between 
fragrant  shrubbery  and  tall  trees,  which  partly  shelter  it  from  the 
gaze  of  the  traveller  when  these  trees  are  in  full  foliage.  The 
house  is  large,  but  not  built  for  show — its  aspect  is  peculiarly  home- 
like; from  the  porch,  and  still  more  from  the  upper  windows,  an 
extensive  view  of  the  city  of  Norwich  and  vicinity  can  be  obtained. 
He  has  one  son,  William  A.,  who  is  a  recent  graduate  from  Har- 
vard, and  is  also  a  trustee  of  the  great  trust  fund. 

Mr.  Slater  is  undoubtedly  the  richest  man  in  Connecticut,  but  he 
has  never  chosen  to  let  the  public  into  the  secret  of  how  many 
figures  it  takes  to  write  out  the  amount  of  his  fortune.  The  prop- 
erty of  the  Slaters  has  been  accumulating  the  whole  of  the  present 
century;  their  business  has  been  a  legitimate  one;  there  have 
been  no  speculative  nor  gambling  proclivities  in  the  family.  And 
though  they  have  bought  railroad  and  other  stocks,  they  have  not 
haunted  the  exchange  to  trade  on  other  people's  losses.  They 
have  built  up  whole  villages  in  the  States  of  Connecticut,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts,  and  have  employed  many  thou- 
sands of  laborers  and  operatives.  Such  men,  if  they  never  gave 
away  a  cent  in  charity,  are  still  a  source  of  wealth  to  others,  and  a 
benefit  to  any  community. 

Mr.  Slater  died  at  his  home  in  Norwich  on  the  ;th  of  May,  1884. 
His  only  child,  a  son,  Mr.  William  A.  Slater,  is  his  principal  heir. 


JOHN    H.    STARIN. 


JOHN   H.  STARIN. 

THERE  are  few  men  more  popular,  within  the  radius  of  a  hun- 
dred miles  around  New  York,  than  John  H.  Starin,  the  ubiquitous 
"  steamboat  man."  Every  one  who  has  sailed  on  the  bay  of  New 
York,  on  Long  Island  Sound  or  the  North  river,  in  recent  years, 
can  hardly  have  failed  to  notice  certain  gay-looking  steamers  bear- 
ing to  them,  if  they  are  strangers,  a  mysterious  flag,  marked  with 
a  star  and  the  letters  I  N.  From  the  frequency  with  which  this 
flag  appears  on  the  waters  surrounding  the  metropolis,  especially 
in  summer,  when  excursions  are  in  vogue,  one  might  easily  pre- 
sume that  some  great  transportation  company  was  the  owner  of 
these  boats,  and  the  visitor  from  a  distance  is  usually  surprised  to 
learn,  though  nominally  so,  that  they  are  nearly  all  owned  by  one 
man,  and  that  his  name  is  Star-in. 

Steamboating  was  not  the  original  occupation  of  this  enterprising 
man,  who  was  born  in  the  inland  town  of  Sammonsville,  in  Fulton 
county,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  on  the  2;th  of  August,  1825, 
at  which  period  his  native  town  was  in  Montgomery  county,  of 
which  Fulton  now  forms  a  new  division.  Young  Starin  received 
a  good  education,  preparatory  to  the  study  of  a  liberal  profession, 
and  that  which  he  chose  was  medicine,  intending  to  practise  as  a 
physician  ;  but,  having  made  considerable  progress  in  this  study, 
he  discovered  that  his  tastes  led  to  a  more  active  life ;  something 
in  the  commercial  line  appeared  to  him  the  most  desirable,  but  cir- 
cumstances led  J4m,  about  1845,  to  establish  himself  in  the  drug 
business,  in  the  town  of  Fultonville.  Here  he  did  very  well,  but 
of  course  it  was  not  the  place  to  make  a  fortune.  He  had  the 
tact,  however,  to  make  his  politics  help  him,  and  procured  the  ap- 
pointment of  postmaster,  which  he  held  during  the  latter  part  of 

(377) 


378  JOHN   H.  STARIN. 

President  Folk's  administration,  and  till  after  the  election  of 
Taylor ;  but,  having  in  that  campaign  worked  very  zealously  for 
the  election  of  General  Scott,  he  lost  the  position  of  handling  the 
mails  as  his  reward. 

If  a  druggist  in  a  country  town  is  a  genial  man,  his  store  natur- 
ally becomes  the  focus  of  all  the  surrounding  neighborhood  for 
politicians  and  wiseacres  of  all  kinds,  and  is  often  made  a  practical 
hall  of  debate,  not  only  upon  local  affairs,  but  for  all  other  sub- 
jects, including  national  politics.  Hence  Mr.  Starin's  political 
views  were  no  secret  to  any  one  in  Fultonville ;  and  there  are  al- 
ways plenty  of  people  ready  to  send  the  news  to  Washington  if 
an  official  incumbent  so  free-spoken  as  Mr.  Starin  is  not  in  precise 
sympathy  with  the  administration.  However,  the  loss  of  this  ap- 
pointment was  no  serious  matter  to  him ;  he  simply  devoted  more 
time  to  extending  his  business,  in  pursuit  of  which  he  came  to  New 
York.  Once  in  the  whirl  of  city  life,  the  drug  business  appeared 
to  him  too  slow ;  the  moving  panorama  of  active  life  upon  the 
water  attracted  his  ambitious  gaze,  and  he  resolved  to  invest  the 
capital  acquired  during  thirteen  years  of  drug-compounding,  and 
the  extensive  sale  of  a  patent  medicine,  in  something  that  should 
float.  He  could  not  yet  venture  into  very  deep  waters,  financially 
or  otherwise,  so  he  commenced  by  hiring  canal-boats  to  carry 
freight ;  and,  prospering  in  this,  he  was  soon  enabled  to  buy  boats, 
and  thus  save  the  rent-money,  and,  as  he  gained  business  and  the 
profits  increased,  he  built  for  himself  new  boats,  adding  to  them 
such  improvements  as  that  kind  of  craft  is  capable  of.  But, 
though  he  had  got  his  foot,  as  it  were,  upon  the  waters,  canaling 
did  not  long  satisfy  him.  The  narrow  boundaries  of  the  canal 
seemed  to  bind  down  the  natural,  buoyance  of  his  spirits  ;  it  chafed 
him  if  he  stood  on  the  deck  of  a  North  river  s^amer  and  saw  a 
fleet  of  his  canal-boats  crawling  out  into  the  Hudson,  and  down 
that  beautiful  stream,  drawn  along  by  an  insignificant  tug.  True, 
canaling  had  brought  him  money,  but  the  time  had  come  to  take  a 
step  higher.  The  canal-boats  were  sold  off  and  the  money  in- 


JOHN     H.    STARIN.  379 

vested  in  steamers  that  could  "  go  outside  "  and  face  the  "  ocean's 
roar,"  "  on  old  Long  Island's  sea-girt  shore,"  or  elsewhere.  Still, 
freighting  was  his  principal  business ;  to  this  he  was  accustomed, 
and  for  this  only  his  first  steamers  were  adapted.  It  was  the 
gigantic  development  of  the  Coney  Island  traffic  which  first  made 
him  "  see  millions"  in  the  excursion  flotilla. 

His  immediate  object,  however,  was  not  to  establish  a  special 
line  of  boats  to  any  particular  point,  but  to  supply  steamers  for 
hire  to  whoever  wanted  them,  either  to  run  on  the  river,  the  sound, 
or  the  bay.  Eventually,  however,  having  purchased  for  his  own 
summer  residence  a  group  of  islands  situated  in  Long  Island 
Sou,nd,  nearly  opposite  New  Rochelle,  he  soon  afterwards  con- 
cluded that  this  location,  less  than  two  hours  sail  from  the  city, 
would  make  an  excellent  summer  resort  for  excursionists.  His 
own  house  is  built  on  an  elevated  site,  commanding  a  splendid 
view,  and  is  not  enclosed  from  the  public,  though  it  is  not  intruded 
upon  by  visitors  to  the  grounds;  a  simple  printed  notice  reading 
"  Private,"  upon  a  tree  here  and  there,  suffices  to  define  the  bound- 
aries, which  the  public  do  not  disregard.  This  group  of  islands 
is  in  name  abbreviated  to  one,  "  Glen  Island ;  "  it  is  a  most  lovely 
place.  Projecting  headlands  stretch  themselves  out  into  the  salt 
waters  of  the  sound,  while  tall  trees  grow  almost  to  the  water's 
edge.  The  several  islands  are  united  by  rustic  bridges  of  artistic 
design  ;  smooth  lawns  charm  the  eye,  and  flower  plots  are  laid  out 
in  profusion  ;  seats  are  everywhere — under  the  trees  and  in  the 
sunshine  ;  covered  pavilions  afford  shelter  from  summer  showers ; 
restaurants,  from  the  simplest  dairy  style,  to  the  most  elaborate 
dining-rooms,  are  scattered  at  reasonable  intervals ;  asphalt  paths 
lead  in  all  directions ;  an  elegant  music-stand  is  occupied  with  a 
carefully  selected  band,  and  a  promenade  pavilion,  having  also 
seats  and  tables,  is  in 'close  proximity.  In  one  portion  of  the 
grounds  is  special  provision  for  children  and  nurses.  One  island, 
approached  by  a  neat  bridge,  is  specially  dedicated  to  parties 
bringing  their  own  luncheon,  so  that  the  whole  of  the  grounds  are 


ogo  JOHN     H.    STARIN. 

not  disfigured  by  open-air  eating.  There  is  quite  an  attractive 
zoological  department,  including  an  immense  marble  basin,  in 
which  sea-lions  disport  themselves ;  indeed,  it  would  appear  im- 
possible to  suggest  any  improvement  in  this  charming  resort.  It 
is  a  restful  place — one  can  be  quiet  there  if  he  wishes  ;  the  place 
is  large  enough  to  accommodate  many  thousands,  without  any 
sense  of  crowding,  and  while  the  air  is  saline,  the  eye  is  enchanted 
with  grass,  trees,  and  flowers,  free  from  the  intolerable  glare  of  the 
shelterless  sandy  beaches  of  Coney  Island  or  Rockaway.  This  is 
peculiarly  a  day  resort,  the  last  boats  leaving  the  island  before 
dark,  so  that  there  is  little  temptation  to  the  unruly  element  to  go 
there.  Knowing  the  taste  of  our  Teutonic  fellow-citizens  for  such 
rural  picnicking  as  Glen  Island  affords,  Mr.  Starin  has  shrewdly 
placed,  near  the  steamboat  landing,  and  at  intervals  here  and 
there,  the  seductive  legend,  "  Klein  Deutschland "  (little  Ger- 
many). If  Mr.  Starin  had  done  nothing  else  for  the  public,  we 
should  esteem  him  a  great  benefactor  in  opening  this  safe  and 
healthful  resort  to  the  weary  and  worn  of  the  great  metropolis. 
One  hundred  acres  of  diversified  land  and  water  scenery  is  no- 
where more  pleasantly  and  conveniently  located  than  at  Glen 
Island.  That  the  people  who  can  avail  themselves  of  it  think  so, 
is  shown  in  the  fact  that,  in  one  year  (1883),  very  nearly  700,000 
visitors  landed  there. 

One  day,  a  year  or  two  since,  the  writer  was  on  a  steamer  in 
the  bay  of  New  York,  when  there  was  seen  approaching  a  tug, 
drawing  along  a  barge  gayly  decorated  with  flags  of  various  kinds, 
with  the  well-known  *IN  flag  at  the  fore.  The  tug  was  heading 
towards  the  Narrows ;  on  its  closer  approach,  music  was  heard, 
but  strange  to  say,  only  here  and  there  was  a  form  visible,  the 
deck-hands,  and  a  few  women ;  it  seemed  impossible  that  any 
excursion  could  leave  New  York  with  so  few  persons  on  board  ; 
the  mystery  was  solved,  however,  when  it  was  learned  that  this 
was  a  "  baby  excursion,"  and  that  hundreds  of  in  visible 'passen- 
gers were  on  deck,  but  whose  young  heads  were  not  high  enough 


JOHN     H.     STARIN.  381 

to  reach  above  the  bulwarks,  and  thus,  at  even  a  short  distance,' 
they  could  not  be  perceived ;  and  this  kind  of  excursion  was  re- 
peated every  summer. 

Since  1879  Mr.  Starin  has  yearly  indulged  in  the  somewhat 
expensive  pleasure  of  giving  free  excursions  to  those  unable  to 
pay  for  the  luxury;  as  many  as  thirty  per  annum  have  been  given 
for  several  years.  Among  those  thus  benefited  have  been  the 
Union  veteran  soldiers  and  sailors,  with  their  families ;  these  gen- 
erally make  up  about  6,000  people.  The  municipal  police  force 
and  their  families  make  a  party  of  some  5,000.  The  New  York 
newsboys  and  bootblacks  are  a  lively  lot  of  2,000,  numerically 
spea'king,  but  to  those  who  have  the  oversight  of  these  irrepressible 
youths,  their  number  frequently  appears  to  be  nearer  10,000.  The 
steamers  usually  accommodate  a  full  5,000  on  the  annual  excur- 
sion given  to  the  very  poor  women  and  children  of  the  Five 
Points.  Going  outside  of  New  York,  Mr.  Starin  has  made  place 
in  his  charity  list  for  3,000  poor,  of  families  dwelling  in  New 
Haven,  .Conn.  Various  miscellaneous  free  excursions  of  smaller 
organizations  are  frequently  added. 

Then  follows,  less  as  a  charity  than  as  a  compliment,  and  as  a 
token  of  mutual  good  will,  when  Mr.  Starin  annually  invites  all  his 
employes  and  their  families  to  "make  a  day  of  it"  at  Glen  Island, 
superadding  a  regular  dinner  for  these  1,500  people.  To  the 
other  free  excursionists  refreshments  are  also  given,  and  bands  of 
music  cheer  them  on  the  glorious  sail  through  Long  Island  Sound. 
The  expense  of  these  free  excursions  is  not  less  than  $8,000  per 
annum,  but  what  an  immense  amount  of  pleasure,  health,  and  good 
will  is  diffused  among  these  thousands,  which  cannot  be  put  into 
figures,  or  even  words !  One  must  look  into  the  happy  faces  of 
these  old  and  young  participants  to  appreciate  the  benefit ;  and 
even  listen  to  them  in  their  homes,  months  afterward,  when  they 
are  telling  of  the  delightful  holiday  they  had  "last  summer,"  and 
hear  the  expressions  of  anticipation  of  what  they  hope  to  enjoy 
again  "next  summer,"  to  get  an  idea  of  how  these  trips  are  appre- 


382    -  JOHN     H.    STARIN. 

ciatcd.  That  it  "  may  live  long  and  prosper  "  is  the  ardent  wish 
of  all  these  beneficiaries,  and  thousands  of  less  impecunious  holi- 
day seekers,  when  they  think  of  the  "  Starin  City,  River  and  Har- 
bor Transportation  Company,"  and  its  honored  president. 

But  Mr.  Starin  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  energetic  business 
men  of  the  metropolis,  but  a  clear-headed  politician.  His  fellow- 
citizens  discovered  his  merits  for  another  sphere  when  they  elected 
him  to  represent  them  in  the  Forty-fifth  and  Forty-sixth  Congress 
(1877-79),  in  which  he  faithfully  served  the  interests  of  his  constit- 
uents, but  did  not  like  Washington  well  enough  to  desire  a  re- 
election. He  is  a  typical  American,  and  able  to  do  a  great  many 
things  well.  He  is  not  only  "high  admiral"  of  the  great  excursion 
interests  of  the  metropolis,  but  he  still  keeps  up  his  connection 
with  the  agricultural  district  in  which  his  family  originated ;  his 
investments  are  not  all  afloat  upon  the  waters,  but  in  Fulton 
county,  and  elsewhere,  are  various  kinds  of  industries  in  which  he 
is  a  large  stockholder,  and  in  these  communities  he  has  shown 
himself  the  generous  giver,  the  same  as  in  his  dealings  around 
New  York  and  vicinity.  Some  one  has  truly  said  of  him  :  "  Mr. 
Starin  is  a  kind  of  all-the-year-round  Santa  Claus."  And  yet,  the 
more  he  gives  away,  the  more  he  seems  to  make.  But  though  a 
generous  giver,  no  one  need  think  to  make  an  easy  bargain  with 
him.  In  the  matter  of  a  trade,  he  can  look  after  his  own  interests 
as  efficiently  as  any  man  in  the  State.  Mr.  Starin's  city  residence 
is  "up-town,"  among  the  handsome  brownstone  fronts,  not  far 
from  Central  Park.  He  has  two  sons,  who  may  yet  carry  the  *IN 
flag  into  broader  waters  than  New  York  bay,  the  Hudson  river, 
or  the  fairyland  of  Glen  Island. 


JOHN   P.  JONES. 

NEVADA,  or  the  "Silver  State,"  lies  entirely  inland;  it  is  part  of 
the  great  interior  American  basin,  which  lies  between  the  Wahsatch 
and  Wind  river  range  of  mountains  on  the  east,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  west  by  the  Sierra  Nevada.  It  is  a  land  of  wonders..  Its 
river^  rise  and  sink  within  its  own  borders.  The  rock  formations 
embrace  nearly  every  example  of  sedimentary  or  eruptive  products, 
from  the  earliest  era  known  in  geology  to  the  present  time. 
Beside  gold  and  silver,  it  produces  lead,  borax,  salt,  soda,  sulphur, 
antimony,  copper,  cinnabar,  gypsum,  plumbago,  manganese,  cobalt, 
arsenic,  magnesia,  alum,  nickel,  nitre,  iron,  coal,  isinglass  and 
millionaires ;  the  latter  crop  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of 
the  whole.  How  many  of  those  who  originally  started  for  Cali- 
fornia, and  wrought  there  with  varying  success,  eventually  crossed 
over  the  line  to  Nevada,  and  with  a  few  energetic  strokes  their 
fortune  was  made;  and  of  these  "silver  millionaires"  three  have 
been  elected  and  one  appointed  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
These  three,  Sharon,  Fair  and  Jones,  will  long  be  remembered  as  the 
richest  men  in  the  Senate.  The  early  life  of  Mr.  Jones  was  passed 
in  the  State  of  Ohio,  having  been  brought  there  an  infant  of  one 
year  old  (in  1830),  from  England,  the  home  of  his  parents. 
About  the  time  of  his  majority,  he  followed  the  stream  which  was 
setting  so  strongly  toward  California,  and,  after  a  tedious  voyage 
"round  the  Horn,"  landed  at  San  Francisco  in  1850.  He  lost  no 
time  dallying  in  that  city  of  tents,  shanties  and  heterogeneous  ad- 
venturers, but  struck  out  immediately  for  the  best  reputed  mining 
locality  he  could  then  hear  of,  which  happened  to  be  the  placer 
mines  in  Calaveras  county,  on  the  Stanislaus  river;  where  he  was 
diligently  at  work  with  his  own  hands  in  September  of  '51.  He 

(383) 


384  JOHN     P.    JONES. 

did  very  well,  was  prudent  and  economical,  saved  his  gold,  turned 
it  quickly  into  cash,  and  hearing  of  better  prospects  elsewhere, 
after  a  somewhat  extended  exploration,  bought  out  a  rich  claim  in 
Tuolumne  county  near  Sonora,  on  Woods  creek:  but  he  was  never 
contented  with  even  a  paying  yield,  if  there  was  any  chance  to  do 
better.  In  pursuit  of  the  most  prolific  mines  he  visited  all  the 
mining  localities  of  reputation  in  the  State,  including  sites  in 
Sierra,  Butte,  Nevada,  Shasta  and  other  counties.  No  work  dis- 
mayed him :  washing  out  gold  in  the  cold  streams  of  the  hillside, 
digging  with  pick  and  shovel,  prospecting  here  and  there,  availing 
himself  of  the  first  crude  machinery  for  crushing  quartz  ;  hunting 
up  mules  to  turn  the  old  Mexican  arrastra  with  its  clumsy  device 
for  separating  the  gold  from  the  rock  ;  boring  tunnels  to  get  the 
quicker  at  supposed  hidden  veins ;  it  was  easier  to  tell  what  he 
did  not  do,  than  what  he  did,  in  his  "  search  for  hid  treasures." 
Many  years  he  thus  toiled  on  with  varied  fortune,  now  "  striking 
it  rich "  and  then  losing  all  in  some  vain  effort  to  increase 
the  value  of  a  worked-out  mine,  or  a  deceptive  lead.  But 
with  all  these  vicissitudes,  in  the  long  run,  he  kept  gaining, 
until  from  hand  labor  he  was  able  to  speculate  on  the  labor  of 
others. 

As  soon  as  proper  machinery  could  be  procured,  he  entered 
upon  a  promising  enterprise  at  Kernville,  in  Tulare  county,  Cali- 
fornia. Here  he  put  up  extensive  and  valuable  hoisting  apparatus 
and  mills  for  grinding  the  rock-ore  ;  the  lead  was  believed  to  be 
very  rich,  but  the  excavations  were  soon  flooded  with  water ;  and 
for  over  two  years  force  pumps  were  kept  continually  at  work, 
throwing  out  water  at  the  rate  of  10,000  gallons  per  minute.  No 
trouble,  time  or  expense  frightened  him,  if  the  end  was  worth  the 
expenditure.  Only  once  did  he  acknowledge  defeat,  and  that  was 
at  a  place  in  Mono  county,  where  he  undertook  to  operate  the 
Panamint  mines,  which  made  a  good  showing  at  first,  and  yielded 
enough  to  incite  hope  that  the  lodes  would  increase  in  value  as 
greater  depths  were  reached ;  but  after  following  several  disap- 


JOHN  .P.    JONES.  385 

pointing  clues,  these  mines  were  abandoned  as  practically  unpro- 
ductive ;  and  here  the  future  Senator  sunk  several  millions  into 
the  ground  instead  of  taking  it  out.  He  now  thought  it  was  about 
time  to  try  some  other  State ;  he  went  into  Oregon,  and  found, 
not  gold,  but  valuable  gravel-pits,  which  paid  handsomely.  By 
this  time  the  fame  of  Storey  county,  Nevada,  reached  his  ears,  and 
it  was  not  long  ere  he  was  investing  largely  in  Ophir,  Savage,  and 
Crown  Point,  and  in  these  his  first  really  great  accumulations 
began.  Nevada  was  to  him,  as  to  so  many  others,  the  ultima 
thule  of  his  gold-seeking  in  the  crude.  Having  done  much 
to  aid  in  developing  these  mines,  not  only  for  his  own  bene- 
fit but  for  that  of  the  less  wealthy  stockholders,  he  began  to 
turn  his  attention  to  other  business  enterprises,  though  he  is 
reported  as  having  expressed  his  opinion  "  that  Comstock  would 
revive." 

Having  in  his  various  explorations  over  the  country  travelled 
thousands  of  miles  over  ungraded  roads,  on  mule  back  and  on 
foot,  he  was  prepared  to  thoroughly  appreciate  a  good  system  of 
railways.  Had  the  Panamint  mines  proved  a  profitable  venture, 
he  had  planned  a  railroad  to  connect  them  with  the  coast,  a  dis- 
tance of  nearly  400  miles.  He  did  build  the  Santa  Monica  Rail- 
road, in  Los  Angeles  county,  and  several  fine  wharves,  where 
thousands  of  ships  and  steamers  have  since  found  safe  anchorage. 
He  spent  a  vast  deal  of  money  in  surveying  other  routes,  especially 
one  for  connecting  Nevada  with  the  Southern  coast  line  via  Col- 
orado. If  the  millions  he  has  spent  in  projected  improvements 
could  now  be  added  to  his  possessions,  he  might  be  rated  at  many 
millions  of  dollars  higher  than  he  is.  His  Santa  Monica  Railroad 
is  said  to  have  cost  enough  to  have  had  every  tie  of  mahogany, 
and  every  rail  of  silver ;  and  it  was  sold  out  at  a  great  sacrifice 
— about  $1,000  a  mile — to  the  Central  Pacific.  His  ideas  were 
too  vast  to  be  practicable ;  his  easy  faith  in  mankind  made  him  a 
prey  to  sharpers,  speculators  .of  the  impecunious  sort,  and  to 
"  friends,"  who  cultivated  him  for  the  money  he  was  so  free  with. 
25 


386  JOHN     P.    JONES. 

It  is  said  by  those  who  knew  him  in  California,  that  he  bought 
quantities  of  property  which  he  had  never  seen,  "  every  ranch  that 
was  offered  him ;  "  and  of  one  in  Nevada,  into  which  he  put  a  con- 
siderable sum,  that  it  has  never  yet  been  located.  Of  course,  no 
fortune,  however  large,  can  bear  depletions  like  that.  One  of  the 
most  serious  losses  he  experienced  was  in  his  purchases  of  stock 
in  what  was  locally  known  in  San  Francisco  as  the  "Sierra  Nevada 
deal."  Without  any  basis  of  realty,  this  stock,  in  the  hands  of 
certain  skillful  manipulators,  of  which  Johnny  Skae  was  the  chief, 
was  made  to  take  a  sudden  jump  from  about  three  dollars 
a  share  to  $275;  "Jones  got  in  at  about  $200  on  the  drop," 
and  very  shortly  after  the  stock  was  selling  below  five  dollars. 
The  Bank  of  Nevada  is  carrying  some  of  the  stock  yet  (1883). 
What  Mr.  Jones  could  see  and  deal  with  personally  he  could 
usually  make  pay,  but  his  mania  for  taking  people  at  their  word, 
without  proof  of  the  values  they  represented,  was  his  financial 
undoing. 

Mr.  Jones'  operations  have  not  been  confined  to  mining  and 
railroads ;  quite  heavy  sums  were  invested  by  him  in  establishing 
artificial  ice-factories  at  New  Orleans,  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  at  Dal- 
las, in  Texas.  It  is  said  of  the  one  in  New  Orleans,  that  he  never 
saw  it,  and  never  but  once  or  twice  the  party  who  induced  him  to 
invest  in  it ;  it  certainly  brought  him  no  return  on  his  money. 
Some  of  his  investments  have  benefited  the  community  more  than 
himself;  even  when  yielding  a  good  dividend,  the  San  Franciscans 
would  be  very  sorry  to  lose  the  luxurious  Homman  baths,  which 
he  fitted  up  with  the  most  complete  and  costly  arrangements  ever 
known  in  such  establishments;  these  are  located  on  Dupont 
street,  and  are  one  of  the  objects  worth  visiting  in  the  city.  A 
most  beneficial  project  which  he  carried  through  was  the  redemp- 
tion of  some  12,000  acres  of  land,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Sonoma 
and  Napa  creeks.  This  marsh  was  subject  to  both  saline  and 
fluvial  overflows,  was  not  only  useless,  but  a  source  of  annoyance, 
and  the  generator  of  disease  to  the  neighboring  country.  Sur- 


JOHN     P.    JONES.  387 

rounding  it  with  a  dike  to  keep  out  the  threatening  floods,  and 
with  sluice-ways  to  drain  it  thoroughly,  this  American  "  polder," 
or  reclaimed  land,  will  cut  up  into  120  farms  of  100  acres  each, 
more  fertile  too,  than  any  other  section  in  the  county  of  Napa,  or 
perhaps  in  the  State.  The  cost  of  this  was  very  great,  but  it  was 
,'one  of  the  enterprises  of  Mr.  Jones  which  has  paid  far  better  than 
pumping  out  subterranean  rivers  to  get  at  non-productive  mines. 
Many  other  useful  works — such  as  the  establishment  of  factories, 
the  erection  of  buildings,  and  local  enterprises,  which  have  called 
for  the  employment  of  hundreds  of  laborers,  and  the  diffusion  of 
many  millions  of  dollars,  have  caused  Mr.  Jones  to  be  looked  upon 
as  a»  great  benefactor  to  the  States  of  California  and  Nevada.  He 
has  never  had  the  slightest  idea  of  hoarding  his  money ;  what 
these  Western  States  have  yielded  him  he  has  rendered  back  in 
works  of  substantial  and  permanent  benefit — sometimes  to  his 
own  loss,  but  never  to  the  injury  of  others.  Senator  Jones  has 
never  been  a  mere  money-getting  machine;  he  has  been  an  ardent 
student  of  political  economy  and  of  national  affairs.  He  made 
his  mark  in  the  Senate  by  a  very  remarkable  speech  upon 
the  remonetization  of  silver;  and  to  those  who  sympathized  with 
his  political  views,  it  appeared  unanswerable.  It  is  at  least  a 
natural  view  for  one  to  take  whose  fortune  has  been  largely  de- 
rived from  the  silver  mines  of  the  country.  In  1875-6  Mr.  Jones 
was  appointed  Chairman  of  the  "  United  States  Monetary  Com- 
mission," to  take  testimony  as  to  the  effect  of  the  depreciation 
of  silver  upon  commerce,  and  on  the  prosperity  of  the  country, 
a  work  entirely  congenial  to  him,  but  executed  in  a  somewhat 
partisan  spirit. 

Mr.  Jones  has  naturally  a  scholarly  mind ;  he  does  not  run  to 
fast  horses,  cards,  or  yachts,  but  prefers  intellectual  pleasures,  and 
the  quiet  of  domestic  life.  He  is  entirely  unpretentious  in  man- 
ner, and  in  the  style  of  his  dress;  to  meet  him  transiently,  no  one 
would  suspect  him  of  being  a  millionaire.  When  in  New  York,  he 
usually  stops  at  the  St.  James  hotel,  in  which  he  had  an  interest 


388  JOHN     P.    JONES. 

and  lost  some  money.  His  fortune  has  dwindled  considerably; 
the  reckless  generosity  with  which  he  invested  his  money,  when- 
ever a  friend  needed  help  to  keep  him  afloat,  was  proverbial ;  but 
the  Senator  enjoys  life,  and  is  too  busy  to  spend  any  time  repining 
over  non-productive  investments.  His  fortune  is  now  estimated 
by  thousands  instead  of  millions,  but  he  has  a  very  handsome 
income,  and  with  from  $50,000  to  $100,000  is  "as  well  off  as  if  he 
was  rich." 

A  characteristic  anecdote  is  told  of  Mr.  Jones  during  his  early 
days  in  California.  He  had  a  friend  there  named  Hayward,  from 
Vermont.  Hayward  had  a  claim  on  a  mountain-side  that  had 
shown  no  particular  promise;  still,  he  held  on  to  it.  One  hot  summer 
day,  when  the  Red  Hills  were  quivering  with  heat,  Hayward  came 
to  see  Jones.  Said  he:  "Jones,  I'm  very  near  to  a  wonderful 
vein  ;  I  know  it,  I  feel  it,  but  I'm  flat  broke.  I  want  $2,000 ;  with 
that  I  will  make  both  our  fortunes."  "Now,  old  fellow,"  said  Jones, 
"  I  have  known  just  1,000  men  who  were  exactly  in  your  fix  ;  they 
only  needed  $1,000,  sometimes  only  $100,  to  make  their  eternal 
fortunes."  But  Jones  could  never  refuse  a  friend  anything  if  he 
had  the  money,  so  he  finally  said :  "  I  will  let  you  have  $2,000 ;  I 
have  $3,000  buried  under  the  fireplace ;  wait  till  the  fire  goes  out, 
and  I  will  get  it  for  you — but  mind,  don't  ask  me  for  any  more." 
When  Hayward  had  got  the  money  in  his  hand,  he  said :  "  Jones, 
when  I  strike  the  vein,  I  will  give  you  a  quarter  interest."  About 
a  month  after  this  interview,  Jones  was  sitting  one  afternoon  in 
his  cabin,  when  Hayward  suddenly  burst  in,  looking  as  pale  as  a 
ghost.  "Jones,  my  boy,  IVe  struck  it ! "  and  sure  enough  he  had  ; 
when  they  went  together  to  examine  the  "  find,"  Jones  found  that 
his  friend  had  really  struck  that  rare  development,  a  "pocket" 
of  almost  pure  gold,  one  of  the  richest  ever  found  in  California. 
Hayward  sold  it  to  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.  for  $5,000,000,  and  he 
was  as  good  as  his  word  ;  the  day  after  the  sale  he  made  over  to 
Jones  the  promised  one-quarter — $1,250,000.  It  was  the  daughter 
of  Mr.  Hayward  that  Jones  afterwards  married.  Mr.  Jones  is 


JOHN     P.    JONES.  389 

reported  as  having  recently  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Corn- 
stock  lode  will  be  revived. 

Like  Senator  Sharon,  Senator  Jones  desires  a  re-election  to 
the  Senate,  and  it  is  understood  that  when  the  time  comes 
they  will  be  rival  candidates.  If  eloquence  can  win  the  votes, 
there  are  few  Western  orators  who  would  be  likely  to  excel 
J.  P.  Jones  in  affluence  of  speech  and  plausible  arguments. 
Long  before  he  ever  saw  the  Senate  Chamber,  he  was  famous 
for  his  impromptu  speeches,  his  witty  repartees,  and  capacity 
for  pathos  when  that  was  seasonable.  If  Senator  Jones  is  re- 
elected,  it  will  not  be  through  the  influence  of  his  money 
alone,  but  the  belief  of  his  constituents  in  his  fitness  for  the 
position. 


JAY   COOKE. 

ONE  day  in  April,  1883,  a  looker-on  in  Wall  street  made  the 
following  observation:  "About  half  -  past  three  o'clock  a  tall, 
elderly  man,  wrapped  in  a  spacious  cloak  of  dark-blue  that  had 
evidently  seen  service,  and  wearing  a  broad-brimmed,  light-colored, 
soft-felt  hat,  turned  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  came  down  the 
street.  He  did  not  attract  particular  attention,  for  in  that  locality 
people  of  all  fashions  and  no  fashion  may  be  seen  any  day.  Had 
he  been  generally  recognized,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  many  heads 
would  have  been  turned  to  observe  him,  and  that  no  one  would 
have  passed  him  without  a  second  glance.  One  person  was  seen 
to  salute  him,  and  that  in  a  very  cordial  manner.  Just  as  he 
reached  the  corner  of  New  street,  and  in  sight  of  the  old  '  Gold 
room,'  he  was  met  by  Mr.  S.  Wilkinson,  the  veteran  Secretary  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad.  After  a  brief  interview  and  ap- 
parently critical  survey  of  the  street  they  parted,  and  the  stranger 
passed  on  down  Wall  street,  and,  turning  into  Broad,  entered  a 
banker's  office  ;  only  one  other  person  within  this  distance  recog- 
nized him,  and  this  was  the  President  of  the  Metropolitan  Elevated 
Railroad.  After  this  no  one  was  seen  to  speak  with  him,  nor  did 
he  cast  even  a  passing  glance  at  his  own  old  historic  quarters  on 
the  corner  of  Nassau  street.  It  is  believed  that  it  was  his  first 
visit  to  Wall  street  since  the  terrible  failure  of  1873-4.  This  ap- 
parition in  the  blue  mantle  and  white  hat  was  Jay  Cooke  !  The 
man  who  manipulated  more  millions  of  Government  bonds  than 
any  other  individual  in  the  United  States,  doing  his  country  greater 
financial  service  in  the  space  of  a  few  months  than  all  others  com- 
bined." 

Jay  Cooke  came  rather  curiously  by  his  baptismal  name.  His 
(39°) 


JAY    COOKE 


JAY    COOKE.  391 

father  bore  the  highly  classical  and  liberty-inspiring  name  of 
Eleutheros,  but  naturally  suffered  much  annoyance  from  the  in- 
ability of  the  common  mind  to  take  in  its  meaning  or  properly 
achieve  its  pronunciation ;  an  unacceptable  nickname  had  hence 
pursued  him  through  his  boyhood  and  even  into  mature  age. 
When  he  had  boys  of  his  own  he  therefore  determined  to  give 
them  names  easy  of  pronunciation  and  incapable  of  abbreviation ; 
hence  his  eldest  was  named  Pitt,  after  "  the  great  commoner,"  and 
his  second,  with  whom  we  are  more  concerned,  "  Jay,"  after  our 
own  eminent  jurist  and  statesman.  Mr.  Eleutheros  Cooke  was 
himself  a  lawyer  of  considerable  reputation,  being  in  his  day  con- 
sidered the  leading  lawyer  in  that  part  of  Ohio  which  includes  the 
city  of  Sandusky.  Indeed,  the  family  have  a  very  respectable 
record,  extending  back  to  that  pious  pilgrim,  Francis  Cooke,  who 
was  one  of  the  immortal  band  which  came  over  in  the  "  May- 
flower," and  landed  with  the  historic  group  on  Plymouth  Rock,  on 
that  eventful  December  in  1620. 

This  reputable  ancestor,  Francis,  was  probably  in  good  financial 
condition,  since  we  find,  by  the  old  records  of  the  colony,  that  his 
was  the  third  house  which  was  erected  at  the  settlement.  In  pro- 
cess of  time  his  descendants  scattered,  some  going  to  the  south 
shore  of  Connecticut,  and  others  braving  the  terrors  of  the  wilder- 
ness and  "going  west,"  penetrating  into  what  is  now  the  northern 
part  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Of  these  the  direct  ancestors  of 
Jay  occupied  a  portion  of  Washington  county,  Jay's,  father  bein^ 
born  in  Middle  Greenville ;  but  it  was  in  Saratoga  that  he  first 
commenced  the  practice  of  law.  It  was  in  1816-17  that  a  number 
of  families  in  Saratoga  concluded  to  form  a  party  of  colonists  and 
remove  to  the  young  but  promising  State  of  Ohio,  and  Eleutheros 
Cooke  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Sandusky,  where  he  speedily  at- 
tained an  eminent  position  in  society  and  politics,  representing  his 
district  in  the  legislature  for  many  successive  years.  His  affilia- 
tions were  with  the  old  Whig  party,  by  whom  he  was  also  elected 
to  Congress  in  1831.  In  politics,  as  in  his  boyish  days,  he  found 


392  JAY     COOKE. 

his  name  an  intolerable  nuisance,  and  in  one  instance  a  serious  in- 
jury. Even  at  that  early  period  there  were  a  great  many  Germans 
settled  in  the  river  counties  in  which  Mr.  Cooke's  district  lay,  and 
.jnany  of  these  voted  for  him  with  ballots  on  which  the  name  of 
Eleutheros  was  incorrectly  spelled,  and  the  judges  of  election  on 
one  occasion  threw  out  a  thousand  of  these  tickets. 

Jay  Cooke  was  born  at  Sandusky  (then  called  Portland),  Huron 
county,  Ohio,  on  the  loth  of  August,  1821,  and  is  consequently  now 
in  his  sixty-third  year.  It  was  his  father's  intention  to  give  all  his 
sons  a  thorough  education,  but  the  mixture  of  politics  with  busi- 
ness had  not  proved  so  profitable  with  the  elder  Cooke  as  some 
later  politicians  have  found  it,  and  during  his  absence  at  Washing- 
ton his  business  suffered ;  it  was  also  a  period  of  general  depres- 
sion, and  during  the  recess  he  became  aware  that  his  financial 
embarrassments  were  likely  to  become  very  serious.  An  anecdote 
is  told  of  this  period  which  exhibits  in  a  striking  light  the  early 
force  of  character  possessed  by  Jay.  His  father,  being  one  day  in  a 
somewhat  despondent  mood,  observed  his  three  boys  returning  from 
school,  and,  half  jocosely,  half  seriously,  met  them  with  a  solemn 
embrace,  saying,  "Well,  my  boys,  I  find  I  have  nothing  left  for 
you  ;  you  will  have  to  go  and  look  out  for  yourselves."  The  lads 
hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  this  unusual  and  totally  unexpected 
address  ;  but,  while  Pitt  and  Henry  said  nothing,  Jay  very  earnestly 
replied,  "  Father,  I  am  old  enough  to  work ;  I  will  go  and  earn 
money  for  myself."  Apparently  nothing  more  was  thought  of  this 
incident  by  either  of  the  four  participants  except  Jay,  who  was  then 
about  thirteen  years  of  age ;  but,  though  he  made  no  more  talk 
about  it,  he  meant  business.  The  very  next  day,  instead  of  going 
to  school,  he  started  off  to  a  merchant  in  the  city  whom  the  family 
knew,  a  Mr.  Hubbard,  and  applied  for  a  position  as  a  clerk.  Mr. 
Hubbard  knew  and  liked  Jay  ;  he  was  also  in  want  of  a  clerk, 
having  just  dismissed  one  for  unfaithfulness;  but  "Jay  was  so 
young!  "  However,  he  was  prepossessed  in  his  favor.  He  asked 
the  boy  some  questions ;  found  he  was  quick  and  ready  at  figures, 


JAY     COOKE.  393 

wrote  a  fair  hand,  ambitious  and  anxious  to  be  useful.  So  he 
ended  by  engaging  him,  provided  he  obtained  his  father's  consent, 
but  putting  him  at  once  to  work. 

When  the  brothers  Pitt  and  Henry  came  home  and  reported  to 
the  mother  that  "Jay  had  not  been  to  school,"  great  was  her  sur- 
prise, and  when  he  returned  later  in  the  day,  after  the  closing  of 
the  store,  she  began  to  speak  of  his  truancy;  but  he  speedily  set 
her  mind  at  rest  by  the  explanation  that  he  was  not  going  to  be  a 
burden  on  his  parents  any  longer,  and  had  already  begun  to  earn 
money.  The  father,  half  vexed  and  yet  proud  of  the  boy  who  had 
so  promptly  taken  him  at  his  word,  agreed  with  the  mother  that 
it  was  not  best  to  force  him  back  to  school,  foreseeing  that,  after 
this  little  spurt  of  independence,  his  mind  would  no  longer  be  on 
his  books ;  so  they  cheerfully  ratified  his  agreement  with  Mr.  Hub- 
bard,  and  thus  little  Jay  was  fairly  launched  into  the  world  of  com- 
merce— and  money-making.  His  employer  took  great  interest  in 
him  on  account  of  his  ready  and  obliging  manners,  and  his  evident 
desire  to  do  all  his  duty  faithfully,  and  his  unusual  capacity  for 
figures  induced  Mr.  Hubbard  to  teach  him  book-keeping  and  also 
put  him  in  the  way  of  completing  some  other  studies.  He  felt 
that  he  could  trust  him,  and  soon  had  occasion  to  put  this  faith  in 
him  to  the  test.  Mr.  Hubbard's  partner  was  absent  on  a  journey, 
and  the  former  being  detained  at  his  home  by  sickness,  the  whole 
business  of  the  store  was  conducted  by  Jay,  who,  calling  for  the 
keys  in  the  morning  and  returning  them  with  the  money  received 
through  the  day  at  night  to  Mr.  Hubbard,  often  remained  with 
the  latter  an  hour  or  two  in  the  evening.  This  continued  for  some 
time,  and  the  young  clerk's  faithfulness  and  ability  soon  became 
known  and  talked  of  among  the  storekeepers  of  the  city.  One  of 
these,  when  Jay  had  been  nearly  a  year  with  Mr.  Hubbard,  was 
about  removing  to  St.  Louis,  and  made  the  lad  a  very  enticing 
offer  to  go  with  him  there  as  clerk  and  bookkeeper.  The  enter- 
prise looked  promising,  and  seemed  to  offer  a  better  prospect  for 
the  future  than  could  be  hoped  for  in  Sandusky,  and  young  Cooke 


394  JAY     COOKE. 

accepted  the  offer;  for  some  reason,  however,  his  employer,  Mr. 
Seymour,  did  not  succeed  in  his  business,  and  in  less  than  a  year 
his  young  clerk  was  back  at  home  again.  He  now  took  the 
opportunity  to  resume  some  of  his  interrupted  studies ;  mathemat- 
ics had  a  peculiar  attraction  for  him,  and  in  this  direction  he  be- 
came very  proficient.  He  also  filled  up  his  leisure  with  reading, 
and  thus  endeavored  to  compensate  himself  for  his  limited  school- 
ing. Shortly,  however,  he  was  invited  by  a  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
William  G.  Moorhead,  to  take  the  position  of  bookkeeper  in  his 
business  in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Moorhead  was  engaged  in  railroad 
and  canal  affairs,  and  this  seemed  a  good  opening  for  the  ambi- 
tious youth,  but  this  engagement  was  also  destined  to  sudden  in- 
terruption, and  briefly  terminated  at  the  conclusion  of  some  twelve 
months,  Mr.  Moorhead  being  appointed  consul  to  Valparaiso, 
which  once  more  threw  his  young  relative  out  of  a  position.  Mr. 
Cooke,  Sr.,  was  now  in  a  more  prosperous  condition,  and  was 
anxious  for  his  son  to  re-enter  school  and  make  up  his  deficiencies 
of  education,  which  the  lad  as  well  as  his  father  felt  was  desirable ; 
so  he  once  more  took  up  his  books ;  but  it  seems  that  he  left  so 
favorable  a  refutation  behind  him  in  Philadelphia,  that  he  could 
not  be  allowed  to  remain  a  school-boy.  Mr.  Clark,  of  the  bank- 
ing-firm of  E.  W.  Clark  &  Co.,  wrote  to  Jay's  father  soliciting  the 
favor  of  receiving  his  son  into  their  establishment,  promising  to 
train  him  to  the  business  of  banking,  and  offering  very  consider- 
able inducements.  The  offer  was  a  very  flattering  one,  and  though 
it  promised  to  draw  the  lad  permanently  away  from  Sandusky,  the 
father  did  not  long  hesitate,  and  the  engagement  was  made. 
Young  as  he  was,  Jay  Cooke  had  already  established  a  character 
as  an  able  and  trustworthy  person,  and  this  firm  of  bankers  were 
not  mistaken  when  they  thought  they  perceived  in  young  Jay 
Cooke  a  peculiar  capacity  for  finance ;  certainly  there  must  have 
been  scores  of  young  men  in  Philadelphia  who  would  gladly  have 
accepted  the  position  ;  but  Jay  had  made  an  impression  upon  Mr. 
Clark  not  to  be  effaced,  and  thus  we  see  him  regularly  inducted 


JAY    COOKE.  395 

into  the  very  business  which  was  to  fit  him  for  the  great  trusts  of 
the  future,  when  the  financial  credit  of  the  nation  seemed  to  hang 
upon  his  individual  skill  as  a  financier. 

Young  Cooke  was  not  yet  seventeen  when  he  went  to  Philadel- 
phia the  second  time ;  and  now  he  had  come  to  stay.  The  firm  of 
E.  W.  Clark  &  Co.  stood  high  with  the  mercantile  and  banking 
community  for  perfect  integrity  and  its  honorable  mode  of  deal- 
ing; it  was  also  at  that  time  the  largest  in  the  United  States  (ex- 
clusive of  those  having  foreign  affiliations).  They  had  branches 
in  New  York,  Boston,  Iowa,  St.  Louis  and  New  Orleans.  Jay 
Cooke  did  not  disappoint  the  hopes  built  upon  him,  so  receptive, 
intelligent  and  assiduous  was  he  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  concern, 
so  intent  on  learning  all  the  intricacies  of  the  business  that,  even 
before  he  was  of  age,  he  was  the  trusted  friend  of  the  firm  as  well 
as  its  faithful  employe.  He  was  even  authorized  to  use  the  name 
of  the  firm  before  the  legal  age  of  responsibility,  so  much  trust 
being  placed  in  his  judgment  and  probity.  As  soon  as  he  attained 
his  majority  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  firm,  in  which  connec- 
tion he  remained  for  sixteen  years;  much  of  his  time,  though  a 
junior  partner,  he  was  practically  at  the  head  of  the  business. 
During  this  period  Clark  &  Co.  had  subscribed  largely  to  several 
government  loans,  and  thus  Jay  Cooke  had  the  opportunity  of 
early  becoming  familiarized  with  that  kind  of  securities.  By 
1858  Mr.  Cooke  had  already  accumulated  a  handsome  fortune, 
and  not  wishing  to  be  tied  down  so  closely  to  business,  he  with- 
drew from  the  firm  ;  but  his  spirit  was  too  active  to  enjoy  the  re- 
pose he  had  promised  himself,  and  he  was  soon  drawn  into  numer- 
ous speculations,  mostly  with  railroads  and  other  large  corporations, 
and  three  years  later  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Mr.  Moorhead,  with  whom  he  had  as  a  lad  found  his  first  occupa- 
tion in  Philadelphia.  The  business  title  of  the  firm  was  "Jay 
Cooke  &  Co."  One  inducement  to  Mr.  Cooke  to  re-enter  formally 
into  new  business  arrangements  was  the  opportunity  it  gave  him 
to  induct  his  sons  into  business,  and  with  a  perfect  self-conscious- 


390  JAY     COOKE. 

ness,  which  events  justified,  he  concluded  that  they  couk?  nowhere 
else  acquire  better  business  principles  and  habits  than  under  his 
own  eye. 

Mr.  Cooke's  partner,  Mr.  Moorhead,  had  long  been  concerned 
in  railroad  affairs,  and  his  experience  in  that  direction  was  a  valu- 
ble  contribution  to  the  influence  of  the  firm.  In  1861  the  Gov- 
ernment issued  its  first  call  for  a  war  loan,  and  though  not  at  that 
time  employed  as  agents  for  the  United  States,  the  firm  of  Jay 
Cooke  &  Co.  voluntarily  solicited  and  obtained  a  large  number 
of  subscribers  to  come  forward  and  help  tide  over  this  first  diffi- 
culty. The  firm  also  negotiated  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  the 
greater  part  of  a  loan  of  several  millions.  It  being  a  period  of 
general  depression,  these  successes  served  to  draw  especial  atten- 
tion to  the  new  competitors.  Mr.  Salmon  P.  Chase  was  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  at  this  time,  and  as  he  could  not  succeed  in 
making  satisfactory  terms  with  the  banks,  he  determined  to  try 
the  experiment  of  a  popular  loan,  the  effectiveness  of  Jay  Cooke 
&  Co.  in  securing  subscribers  to  that  of  the  spring  of  1861 
greatly  encouraging  him  in  the  belief  that  it  would  prove  a  suc- 
cess. To  interest  all  parts  of  the  country,  he  appointed  agents  in 
each  of  the  loyal  States,  400  in  all,  a  large  proportion  of  these 
naturally  being  persons  connected  with  banking  establishments. 
Of  course  the  firm  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  was  not  overlooked,  and  it 
became  the  government  agent  for  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Cooke  went 
into  the  business  con  amore,  with  zeal  but  also  with  system,  adver- 
tising very  largely,  and  employing  subordinate  agents,  and  the 
result  was  that,  of  the  whole  sum  raised  ($30,000,000)  by  the  400 
government  agents,  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  turned  in  the  sum  of  $10,- 
000,000.  But  this  sum  was  a  mere  bagatelle  to  the  needs  of  the 
treasury ;  it  dissolved  before  the  requisitions  of  the  war  depart- 
ment like  dew-drops  before  the  sun,  while  new  necessities  sprang 
up  in  every  other  department  of  the  government.  Congress  was 
called  upon  to  authorize  a  loan  of  $500,000,000 — since  known  as 
the  "  5-20  bonds."  The  former  experiments  of  the  400  agents 


JAY     COOKE.  397 

had  in  the  main  been  a  failure;  not  a  tenth  part  of  those  employed 
had  made  any  special  effort  to  ensure  success,  while  the  great 
majority  of  them  had  paid  far  more  attention  to  their  private 
business  than  to  the  pressing  needs  of  the  government.  Hence 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  resolved  to  put  the  new  loan  into 
as  few  hands  as  possible,  and  even  to  one  person,  if  any  one  in-1 
dividual  could  be  found  brave  enough  to  accept  such  an  enormous 
trust. 

Mr.  Jay  Cooke  was  the  person  already  selected  in  the  mind  of 
the  Secretary  as  the  one  whom  he  hoped  would  accept  it;  the 
offer  was  made,  and  the  response  came  promptly  in  the  affirmative. 
Salmon  P.  Chase  felt  a  great  burden  rolled  off  his  heart ;  the 
bonds  were  so  judiciously  presented  before  the  public,  that  the 
loan  speedily  became  popular;  the  "sales  increased  day  by  day,  and 
finally,  victory  perched  upon  the  banner  of  the  Philadelphia  banker. 
But  $500,000,000  cannot  be  disposed  of  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions  without  a  considerable  effort,  and  the  conditions  in  this 
case  were  far  from  favorable.  To  many  persons  the  issues  of  the 
war  still  seemed  doubtful,  and  the  risk  of  investing  a  real  hazard. 
Many  of  the  disaffected  began  to  draw  comparisons  between  these 
bonds  and  the  fate  of  the  "  Kossuth  bonds,"  and  other  financial 
bubbles.  But  Jay  Cooke  organized  for  the  work  of  disposing  of 
them  as  carefully  and  scientifically  as  if  the  life  of  his  country  hung 
upon  each  and  every  single  bond.  He  appreciated  the  power  of 
the  press,  and  realized  that  the  first  difficulty  to  be  overcome  was 
the  apathy  and  distrust  of  capitalists,  and  of  the  thrifty  portion  of 
the  community.  To  overcome  this,  he  knew  there  was  no  power 
in  the  land  equal  to  the  task,  unless  the  press  could  be  aroused  to 
create  a  public  sentiment.  But  the  press,  like  the  rest  of  the  peo- 
ple, had  not  yet  become  habituated  to  regard  such  enormous 
expenditures  with  equanimity.  The  press,  then,  must  be  sub- 
sidized ;  but  this  too  must  be  done  very  delicately,  or  its  pride 
would  be  alarmed.  Mr.  Cooke  began  his  assault  upon  the  public 
mind  in  a  sensible,  business  way ;  he  sent  advertisements  to  every 


paper  in  the  Northern  States;  he  induced,  so  far  as  he  could,  every 
editor  who  received  an  advertisement  to  favorably  notice  the  sale 
of  the  bonds.  He  procured  the  insertion  of  articles  in  magazines 
and  reviews,  explaining  and  eulogizing  the  scheme.  He  employed 
personal  agents,  in  localities  where  it  would  tell,  "  to  talk  up  the 
bonds."  He  also  sent  travelling  agents  through  the  country  parts, 
to  receive  subscriptions  from  farmers,  and  others  of  still  smaller 
means,  so  that  every  man,  woman,  or  boy  who  had  fifty  dollars 
saved,  could  "  help  save  the  nation,"  and  procure  a  good  and  safe 
investment,  without  travelling  to  the  city  or  the  county  bank  to 
place  their  money.  Mr.  Cooke  himself  worked  day  and  night — 
writing  letters  to  influential  people  all  over  the  country,  laying  out 
plans  for  his  agents,  and  we  may  say,  paying  bills,  for  all  this 
movement  of  men  and  means  cost  money :  $500,000  had  been  ex- 
pended in  arousing  the  country  before  the  returns  began  to  come 
in.  Mr.  Cooke's  partners,  and  other  friends,  as  may  well  be  im- 
agined, began  to  grow  anxious,  but  Jay  Cooke's  faith  in  the  means 
used  was  of  that  solid  nature  which  could  wait  serenely,  confident 
of  the  end.  At  last  the  public  sympathy  began  to  ooze  out  in 
little  rills  and  streams,  like  the  beginning  of  a  freshet,  or  the 
gradual  bursting  of  a  mill-dam.  The  spectators  watch,  and  the 
streams  grow  larger:  small  and  slow  at  first,  they  now  begin  to 
expand  and  to  hurry,  till  finally,  gathering  strength  by  their  own 
force  and  push,  they  break  all  bounds,  and  rush  with  irresistible 
energy,  overcoming,  overwhelming  every  obstacle  that  stands  in 
the  way ;  and  so  it  was  with  the  sale  of  these  "  5-20' s  ;  "  first  a  few 
patriotic  individuals,  then  a  few  more;  from  tens  the  applicants 
grew  to  scores,  from  scores  to  fifties — hundreds — thousands,  until 
the  clerical  force  of  the  office  was  insufficient  to  answer  the  de- 
mands, and  extra  help  had  to  be  obtained.  The  furore  grew  with 
what  it  fed  on,  and  ere  many  weeks  had  passed  since  the  first  gen- 
eral movement  towards  them,  Mr.  Cooke  was  obliged  to  announce 
that  every  bond  was  spoken  for,  and  that  after  such  a  day  and 
hour  no  more  could  be  obtained.  But  now  the  would-be  buyers 


JAY    COOKE.  399 

were  not  to  be  so  put  off;  applications  still  poured  in.  What  was 
to  be  done  ?  were  these  voluntary  contributors  to  the  stability  of 
the  government  to  be  sent  away  empty-handed  ?  By  no  means, 
thought  Jay  Cooke.  He  faced  the  responsibility  single-handed, 
and  on  his  own  credit  issued  $14,000,000  more  of  the  bonds,  rely- 
ing upon  Congress  to  legalize  them,  which  was  afterwards  done. 
This  last  was  a  bold,  even  audacious  stroke  of  generalship;  but 
showed  the  character  of  the  man,  and  the  perfect  assurance  that 
he  had,  that  what  Jay  Cooke  had  done,  Jay  Cooke  could  justify. 
Better  financiering  than  the  placing  of  that  loan  the  world  has 
never  seen  honestly  done. 

Now  let  us  see  what  inducements  were  held  out  by  the  govern- 
ment for  this  Philadelphia  banker  to  make  such  gigantic  efforts 
and  assume  such  risks.  To  help  in  the  estimate  we  may  state 
that  the  commission  usually  paid  in  Europe  to  agents  who  nego- 
tiate government  loans  ranges  from  four  to  eight  per  cent.,  with 
no  risk  to  themselves.  The  risks  which  Mr.  Cooke  assumed  were 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  finance.  We  do  not  forget  the  patriot 
Robert  Morris  who  came  to  the  aid  of  the  government  in  the 
Revolutionary  era,  and  seriously  impaired  his  private  fortune  in 
that  patriotic  service ;  nor  the  far-sighted  generosity  of  Stephen 
Girard  who  took  the  whole  of  a  government  loan  on  his  own 
shoulders  in  1812-13  ;  but  these  were  trifles  in  amount  compared 
to  the  issue  of  the  "  5-20  bonds."  In  this  latter  case  the  govern- 
ment made  a  hard,  close  bargain,  by  which  it  could  lose  nothing 
even  if  the  experiment  failed.  The  Treasury  Department  did  not 
expend  a  cent  in  preliminary  work  ;  all  the  expenses  of  the  beating- 
up  process  were  paid  by  Cooke  &  Co.,  so  that  if  it  had  failed,  the 
firm  would  have  lost  half  a  million  dollars,  and  probably  have  been 
ruined.  And  if  it  succeeded,  what  was  the  compensation  ?  Five- 
eighths  of  one  per  cent.!  and  out  of  this  he  must  reimburse  himself 
for  all  his  enormous  expenditures.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  but  that  Mr.  Cooke  was  actuated  by  pure 
and  patriotic  motives  in  the  desire  to  sustain  the  Union  rather 


400  JAY     COOKE. 

than  pecuniary  considerations.  Neither  was  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  inclined  to  put  a  generous  construction  upon  these  hard 
terms  of  his  bargain.  When  the  rush  for  the  bonds  had  reached 
its  climax,  and  the  physical  impossibility  of  supplying  them  through 
the  offices  of  Jay  Cooke  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  became 
apparent,  many  persons  in  their  impatience  rushed  themselves  or 
sent  to  Washington  to  obtain  them,  so  that  in  the  final  settlement 
Jay  Cooke  only  received  his  commission  on  $363,000,000  instead  of 
$500,000,000 ;  although  he  was  morally  and  in  equity  entitled  to 
the  whole,  and  might  have  obtained  it  had  he  seen  fit  to  press  his 
suit,  as  it  was  acknowledged  on  all  hands  that  he  had  "  set  the 
ball  in  motion "  which  produced  such  satisfactory  results.  But 
realizing  that  Mr.  Chase,  whose  patriotism  was  undoubted,  was 
influenced  by  ideas  of  what  he  conceived  to  be  necessary  economy, 
Mr.  Cooke  allowed  him  to  make  the  settlement  on  his  own  terms. 
This,  however,  was  not  the  end  of  Mr.  Cooke's  connection  with 
the  government  bonds.  True,  Mr.  Chase  in  his  next  essay  thought 
that  the  people  being  now  in  the  humor  for  that  sort  of  investment 
concluded  in  his  next  issue  to  dispense  with  the  services  of  his 
late  successful  agent;  but  his  experiment  with  the  "10-40" 
loan  only  wen^  to  show  how  easily  a  good  and  wise  man  may 
mistake  when  he  applies  too  rigid  theories  of  economy  to  cases  of 
public  emergency.  The  "  ten-forties  "  dragged  their  slow  length 
along,  so  that  the  secretary  was  fain  to  try  another  experiment, 
which  resulted  in  the  issue  of  the  "  7-30*5, "  the  history  of  which  is 
too  well  known  to  enlarge  upon  here.  Meanwhile  the  national 
banks  were  established,  overthrowing  the  old  State  banks  and 
inaugurating  the  reign  of  "greenbacks,"  and  in  consequence  of 
the  immense  volume  of  this  paper  currency  being  thrown  upon  the 
country,  its  depreciation  commenced,  as  was  evinced  by  the  un- 
precedented rise  in  gold ;  and  still  more  money  was  needed,  the 
government  expenses  being  about  $3,000,000  a  day,  while  as  yet 
the  Confederation  looked  strong  and  the  length  of  the  war  ex- 
tremely uncertain. 


JAY    COOKE.  4OI 

To  the  surprise  of  the  country,  in  June,  1864,  Mr.  Chase  sud- 
denly resigned  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Treasury.  The  sensitive- 
ness of  the  public  mind  to  political  changes  of  any  significance 
may  be  imagined,  when  we  record,  as  the  effect  of  this  announce- 
ment that  gold  suddenly  leaped  in  the  course  of  a  fortnight  from 
eighty-eight  per  cent,  premium  to  one  hundred  and  eighty-five.- 
Nothing  less  than  government  bankruptcy  seemed  impending. 
But  those  who  never  allowed  themselves  to  despair  of  the  republic 
were  fortunately  in  the  ascendency,  and  knew  that,  whatever  had 
been  the  value  of  Mr.  Chase's  services,  the  Union  had  other 
good  and  capable  men  left,  and  that  the  national  cause  never 
would  depend  on  the  life  or  efforts  of  any  one  man.  The  Secre- 
taryship of  the  Treasury  was  accepted  by  Mr.  Fessenden,  an  able 
financier  himself,  but  who  was  not  above  calling  in  extraneous  aid. 
Another  loan  being  imperative,  he  called  at  once  upon  Jay  Cooke 
to  assist  in  placing  it.  Mr.  Cooke  again  set  in  operation  the 
same  tactics  he  had  found  so  effective  on  a  former  occasion,  ap- 
peals through  the  press  and  personal  agencies,  without  stint  or 
counting  the  cost.  If  he  did  not  originate  he  gave  full  effect  to  the 
phrase  that  "A  national  debt  is  a  national  blessing."  This  time  he 
did  not  content  himself  with  the  home  market;  through  corre- 
spondents and  agents  he  spread  information  and  arguments  in  favor 
of  United  States  securities  broadcast  over  Europe,  particularly  in 
Germany,  Holland  and  Switzerland  ;  and  the  result  was  that  in 
little  over  six  months  about  $200,000,000  of  United  States  bonds 
had  been  sold  in  London,  Paris,  Berlin,  Frankfort  and  Amster- 
dam, nor  has  the  demand  ever  altogether  ceased  for  United 
States  bonds  in  those  great  commercial  centres.  Within  twelve 
months'  time  $830,000,000  of  United  States  bonds  had  been 
placed  at  home  and  abroad  mainly  by  the  skillful  engineering  of 
Jay  Cooke. 

With  the  return  of  peace  the  firm  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  turned 
its  attention  to  other  objects,  principally  the  negotiation  of  loans 
for  great  public  and  corporate  enterprises,  maintaining  through 
26 


402  JAY     COOKE. 

every  change  its  reputation  for  honorable  dealing  and  its  pre- 
eminence in  the  vastness  of  its  enterprises,  government  securities 
being  still  a  staple  of  the  house.  Having,  through  the  negotiation 
of  the  latter,  obtained  a  European  reputation,  it  was  a  natural  re- 
sult that  Mr.  Cooke  should  desire  to  extend  his  business  in  that 
direction;  hence  the  establishment,  in  1871,  of  the  branch  house 
in  London,  known  as  "Jay  Cooke,  McCulloch  &  Co.,"  the  last- 
named  gentleman  having  recently  been  the  successor  of  Chase 
and  Fessenden  in  the  secretaryship  of  the  United  States  treasury. 
The  new  firm  of  American  bankers,  through  the  vastness  of  their 
resources  and  precedent  reputation,  were  at  once  accorded  the 
highest  rank  in  financial  circles ;  they  were  the  acknowledged 
peers  of  the  Rothschilds,  Barings  or  any  other  financiers  in 
London,  and  soon  gave  extraordinary  proof  of  their  capacity  to 
deal  with  the  largest  interests  known  to  nations.  Shortly  after 
their  debut  in  London,  Mr.  McCulloch  being  the  resident  partner 
there,  the  new  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Treasury,  George 
Boutwell,  attempted  to  fund  a  large  part  of  the  public  debt  by 
issuing  new  bonds,  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest,  and  with  the  pro- 
ceeds to  buy  up  the  old  six  per  cent,  bonds ;  he  therefore  put  out 
$200,000,000  "  five  per  cents."  Making  every  effort  of  which  he 
was  capable,  the  new  bonds  lagged,  and  at  the  end  of  six  months 
only  $60,000,000  had  been  disposed  of,  with  no  apparent  prospect 
of  getting  the  remainder  off  his  hands,  since  what  had  been  sold 
were  taken  by  the  banks,  and  no  popular  enthusiasm  had  been 
aroused.  Discouraged  by  the  result,  the  Secretary  at  last  applied 
to  the  firm  of  Jay  Cooke,  McCulloch  &  Co.,  and  in  less  than  a 
fortnight  the  whole  of  the  remaining  loan,  $140,000,000,  was  sold. 
The  people  of  Europe  are  not  accustomed  to  large  rates  of  interest 
from  government  funds,  and  five  per  cent,  looked  to  them  very 
'  attractive ;  and  this  last  exploit  of  Jay  Cooke  opened  the  eyes  of 
Americans  to  the  fact  that  a  market  was  always  open  abroad  for 
bonds  bearing  a  low  rate  of  interest. 

The  affiliations  of  Jay  Cooke,  McCulloch  &  Co.  with  European 


JAY     COOKE.  403 

bankers  was  now  turned  to  the  benefit  of  the  United  States.  The 
former  firm  entered  into  a  special  arrangement  with  that  of  L.  M. 
Rothschilds  &  Sons,  of  London,  to  negotiate,  for  the  United 
States,  a  loan  of  $600,000,000.  This  offer  was  an  unprecedented 
event,  and  would  have  been  accepted  gratefully  by  the  Govern- 
Iment,  but  just  at  this  epoch  the  diplomatic  affairs  of  the  two 
countries  were  somewhat  strained  by  the  claims  of  the  United 
States  upon  England  arising  out  of  the  Alabama  ravages,  and  the 
proposition  of  the  great  bankers  was  held  over  for  further  con- 
sideration, since  it  could  not  at  that  time  be  foreseen  that  the  claims 
of  the  United  States  would  be  peacefully  settled  by  arbitration  ; 
but  the  knowledge  that  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.  were  affiliated  in  this 
business  with  the  famous  house  of  Rothschild  served  to  still 
further  enlarge  their  credit  in  European  circles,  and  it  was  the  as- 
surance they  had  of  this  fact  which  encouraged  them  in  their  next 
grand  undertaking,  for  the  firm  had  now  begun  to  look  upon  the 
foreign  market  as  their  own  legitimate  domain.  As  Jupiter  some- 
times nods,  so  the  wisest  of  men  and  of  financiers  are  liable  occa- 
sionally to  make  a  mistake,  and  when  they  do  commit  an  error  it 
is  usually  on  a  gigantic  scale.  The  rock  on  which  Jay  Cooke  split 
his  financial  bark,  after  weathering  so  many  storms  and  recording 
so  many  victories,  was  the  construction  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad.  For  this  a  charter  was  obtained  in  the  summer  of 
1864.  The  plan  of  the  road  was  to  create  a  continuous  highway, 
on  a  more  northern  meridian  than  the  Union  and  Central  Pacific ; 
from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior 
by  water,  and  from  the  latter  point  to  Puget  Sound  by  rail.  It 
was  a  magnificent  project,  and  worthy  of  the  brains  of  a  man  who 
had  been  dealing  with  hundreds  of  millions  of  money,  operating  in 
two  hemispheres,  and  who  just  then  seemed  incapable  of  manipu- 
lating anything  less  than  continental  schemes.  To  sell  the  bonds 
for  this  road  he  pursued  the  same  popular  plan  of  advertising 
them  extensively  as  he  had  found  so  successful  with  the  govern- 
ment loans;  but  in  this  last  case  an  extra  display  was  made  in  the 


404  JAY   COOKE. 

most  widely  circulating  religious  papers,  and,  as  Mr.  Cooke  was 
widely  known  as  a  generous  friend  of  many  Christian  objects,  and 
especially  poor  clergymen,  these  ornate  glowing  pictures  of  the 
health,  happiness  and  prosperity  which  awaited  all  those  who 
should  settle  on  the  line  of  the  railroad,  as  well  as  the  good  fortune 
of  those  who  should  be  happy  enough  to  procure  some  of  the 
bonds,  were  widely  believed,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  these 
were  taken  up  to  a  considerable  extent  by  persons  unfamiliar  with 
the  construction  of  railroads  and  unable  to  estimate  the  probability 
of  coming  dividends  under  the  circumstances.  To  the  uninitiated 
the  figures  looked  very  promising ;  the  company  had  received  a 
land-grant  of  twenty  sections  to  the  mile  within  the  States  tra- 
versed, and  forty  sections  to  the  mile  through  the  Territories. 
Work  was  begun  upon  the  road  in  1869,  and  opened  to  traffic  in 
1873,  trains  running  from  Duluth  to  Bismarck,  a  distance  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  miles ;  but  these  trains  ran  through  a  wilder- 
ness ;  there  was  not  population  enough  to  support  the  road,  and 
the  crash  came.  In  January,  1874,  the  company  made  default  in 
interest  on  its  bonds.  The  truth  was,  the  project  was  premature; 
a  dozen  years  later  and  all  would  have  been  well.  The  failure  of 
Jay  Cooke  produced  an  immense  excitement,  and  the  distress 
among  the  poorer  bondholders  was  very  great  and  wide-spread ; 
indeed,  it  amounted  to  a  panic,  which  heralded  the  "  bad  times  " 
which  continued  for  so  many  successive  years.  This  unfortunate 
road  was  sold  in  August,  1875,  and  a  new  company  organized,  so 
far  as  might  be,  in  the  interest  of  the  old  creditors  and  stock- 
holders. It  has  since  been  greatly  extended,  and  in  May,  1882, 
thirteen  hundred  and  fifty-one  miles  were  in  operation,  its  bonds 
being  quoted  above  par ;  it  was  completed  in  August  of  1883.  Since 
1874  Mr.  Cooke  has  not  appeared  as  a  public  operator  in  stocks ; 
what  he  has  done,  to  redeem  in  part  his  indebtedness,  has  been 
done  quietly  and  mainly  through  other  hands. 

While  money  was  passing  freely  through  Jay  Cooke's  hands,  he 
was  extremely  liberal  in  the  use  of  it.  He  lived  in  princely  style 
in  his  winter  residence*  in  Philadelphia,  and  also  had  an  elegant 


JAY     COOKE.  405 

suburban  mansion  in  the  vicinity  of  that  city,  but  a  portion  of  the 
summer,  for  several  years,  he  spent,  in  the  company  of  many  in- 
vited guests,  at  his  charming  place  on  Gibraltar  Island,  in  Lake 
Erie.  This  island  is  situated  near  Sandusky,  his  early  home. 
Here  every  season  Mr.  Cooke  made  it  a  point  to  invite  a 
number  of  persons,  mostly  poor  ministers  who  were  otherwise 
unable  to  take  a  vacation,  to  come  and  spend  a  few  weeks  at 
Gibraltar  Island,  and  when  he  thought  it  would  not  give  offence, 
he  was  very  apt  to  inclose  a  check  with  his  invitations,  to  cover 
travelling  and  other  expenses.  During  the  war  Mr.  Cooke  gave 
largely  to  the  Sanitary  Commission  and  to  the  Christian  Commis- 
sion1; to  the  military  hospitals,  and,  always  with  peculiar  pleasure, 
to  sick  or  wounded  soldiers  individually,  as  also  to  the  families  in 
need  whose  husbands  and  sons  were  in  the  army. 

From  Mr.  Cooke's  suburban  residence,  at  Chelton  Hills,  can  be 
seen  several  churches  of  different  denominations  which  he  has 
built  for  impecunious  congregations.  He  also  gave  $25,000  to 
Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  and  to  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Theological 
Seminary  between  $25,000  and  $30,000;  in  fact,  no  good  cause 
was  presented  to  him  in  vain.  Although  Jay  Cooke  had  received 
but  a  very  imperfect  education,  he  was  not  destitute  of  either  lit- 
erary tastes  or  literary  capacity.  When  less  than  twenty  years  of 
age  he  wrote  the  first  money  article  ever  published  in  a  Philadelphia 
paper  (for  such  papers  are  comparatively  a  modern  phase  of  jour- 
nalism) ;  and  for  the  space  of  a  year  thereafter  edited  the  financial 
column  of  one  of  the  very  few  papers,  the  Daily  Chronicle,  which 
then  enlightened  its  readers  on  such  subjects.  He  always  took 
pleasure  in  the  company  of  ministers  and  others  who  were  college- 
bred,  and  felt,  what  is  more,  a  practical  interest  in  promoting  the 
schemes  of  others  for  the  extension  of  literary  institutions.  Mr. 
Cooke  still  lives,  and  would  be  heartily  welcomed  back  to  the 
scenes  of  his  former  financial  glory,  could  he  bring  himself  once 
more  to  face  the  toils  and  anxieties  which  beset  even  the  most 
adroit  and  successful  fishers  of  men  in  Wall  street  and  the  Stock 


406  JAY    COOKE. 

Exchange.  True,  he  has  not  been  wholly  idle,  but  his  operations 
have  been  mostly  confined  to  the  Philadelphia  stock  market,  with 
the  exception  of  a  very  successful  sale  of  a  silver  mine  to  some 
English  capitalists.  Though  greatly  reduced  in  wealth,  Mr.  Cooke 
is  not  absolutely  poor,  his  present  possessions  being  valued  at 
about  $2,000,000. 

At  the  recent  celebration  of  the  completion  of  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railroad,  at  the  banquet  held  at  Minneapolis,  September 
4th,  1883,  Mr.  Cooke  was  not  forgotten,  though  unable  to  be 
present  at  the  ceremony  of  driving  the  "golden  spike."  The  fol- 
lowing toast  was  proposed  at  the  banquet:  "Jay  Cooke — It  is 
fitting  that  the  founder  of  the  railroad  which  spans  the  continent 
should  stand  side  by  side  with  its  prosecutor  and  finisher  in  driv- 
ing home  the  golden  spike  of  the  completed  and  consolidated  en- 
terprise." General  Washburn  responded  to  the  toast  in  an  elo- 
quent speech,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said  :  "  It  was  my  privilege 
to  stand  by  Jay  Cooke  from  the  day  when  he  first  shouldered  the 
Northern  Pacific  enterprise  until  that  dark  day  in  1873,  when, 
amid  disaster  and  defeat,  he  laid  down  his  uncompleted  endeavor; 
I  should  be  glad,  if  time  permitted,  to  give  you  some  due  expres- 
sion of  my  estimate  of  the  grand  courage,  magnificent  faith,  and 
that  now  justified  foresight,  which  characterized  him.  I  am  glad  to 
have  time  tp  say  even  one  word  in  honor  of  the  man  who  planted 
the  seed  and  watered  it,  the  fruit  of  which  is  to-day  being  gathered 
by  others."  Mr.  Washburn's  reference  to  the  "  courage  "  of  Jay 
Cooke  is  emphasized  by  those  who  remember  that  he  stood  alone 
in  his  own  firm  in  his  Northern  Pacific  undertaking,  only  one 
junior  member  and  his  brothers  sympathizing  with  him. 

Mr.  Cooke  lives  near  Philadelphia  with  one  of  his  married 
daughters,  his  wife  having  died  some  years  ago,  and  his  beautiful 
home,  Ogontz,  so  named  in  honor  of  the  Indian  Chief  Ogontz,  a 
friend  of  his  boyhood,  has  become  a  seminary  for  young  women. 
It  was  one  of  the  handsomest  residences  in  America,  and  one  of 
the  largest  ever  built  for  a  private  family. 


FRANCIS   B.   THURBER. 

IT  is  not  often  that  we  find  combined  in  one  person  the  elements 
of  a  successful  merchant,  an  active,  enthusiastic  reformer,  and  an 
author  of  merit,  whose  writings  are  both  pleasing  and  of  practical 
utility.  New  York  furnishes  us  at  least  one  such  prodigy.  In 
Francis  B.  Thurber  we  have  this  unusual  combination  of  qualities. 
Every  down-town  merchant,  and  thousands  of  visitors  to  the  city, 
know  by  sight  the  large  establishment  of  which  he  is  now  the 
ruling  spirit,  at  the  junction  of  West  Broadway,  Reade  and  Hudson 
streets,  which  gives  a  frontage  on  three  streets  to  a  prominent 
building  devoted  to  the  wholesale  grocery  business,  conducted  for 
many  years  past  under  the  firm-name  of  H.  K.  &  F.  B.  Thurber 
&  Co.,  but  more  recently  as  Thurber,  Whyland  &  Co. 

Francis  B.  Thurber  was  born  at  Delhi,  Delaware  county,  New 
York,  in  1842.  His  father  and  mother  were  originally  from  Ot- 
sego  county,  New  York,  but  moved  to  Delhi  early  in  their  married 
life ;  there  were  eight  children  in  that  old-fashioned  homestead, 
seven  of  whom  are  still  living.  Francis  had  rather  better  facilities 
for  education  than  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  average  farmer's  boy  in 
that  part  of  the  State.  He  attended  the  district  school  regularly 
during  the  winters,  until  thirteen  years  of  age,  working  on  the 
farm  during  the  summers,  and  was  subsequently  sent  to  the  Union 
Hall  academy,  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  for  a  short  time.  When  nearly 
fourteen,  he  followed  the  course  of  so  many  of  our  successful  men 
— came  to  New  York  city,  and  entered  as  a  boy  with  the  old  and 
well-known  firm  of  Robert  &  Williams,  who  were  in  the  West 
India  trade  in  Water  street ;  he  afterwards  entered  as  a  clerk  with 
the  firm  of  T.  M.  Wheeler  &  Co.,  whose  principal  business  was 
that  of  handling  merchandise  for  Robert  &  Williams,  which  in- 

(407) 


FRANCIS     B.    THURBER. 


eluded  lightering  and  storage.  Here  he  remained  some  eight 
years,  learning  much  about  products  and  values,  exporting  and 
importing,  and  in  many  ways  fitting  himself  to  conduct  an  inde- 
pendent business  for  himself. 

For  some  years  an  elder  brother,  Mr.  Horace  K.  Thurber,  had 
been  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business  in  Chambers  street,  and 
shortly  after  Francis  had  attained  his  majority  (in  1863),  he  united 
his  fortunes  with  his  brother,  and  this  business  relationship  has 
continued  to  the  present  time.  The  extent  of  their  establishment 
in  Chambers  street  even  then  obliged  them  to  occupy  two  houses, 
Nos.  173-5,  but  these  quarters  becoming  too  contracted,  some 
years  later  they  erected  their  present  large  store  and  warehouse. 
But  large  and  varied  as  this  business  was,  it  did  not  offer  scope 
enough  for  the  activities  of  Francis.  Musing  upon  the  fluctuations 
of  trade,  upon  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand  ;  compelled  to  con- 
sider the  questions  of  freightage,  by  the  widely  extended  ramifica- 
tions of  their  business  ;  observing  the  effects  of  "  corners  "  in  the 
produce  market,  and  forced  to  familiarity,  not  only  with  the  pro- 
duction but  the  movement  of  the  world's  products,  he  became  a 
close  student  of  politico-economic  questions,  and  there  gradually 
grew  up  within  his  mind  a  sentiment  of  revolt  against  the  tyranny 
of  corporations,  whose  aggressions  and  abuses  he  felt  were  not 
only  encroaching  upon  legitimate  property  rights,  but  were  endan- 
gering our  free  institutions.  When,  after  mature  reflection,  he 
had  formed  a  theory,  sufficiently  connected  to  be  formulated  in 
utterance,  he  began,  through  personal  addresses  and  by  his  pen, 
to  try  and  arouse  to  a  consciousness  of  their  danger  the  apathetic 
public,  who  were  supinely  allowing  overgrown  corporations  to  tax 
them  more  heavily  than  the  government  had  ever  dared  to  do, 
under  the  plausible  pretext  of  "  accommodating  the  public." 

But  we  are  somewhat  anticipating  events.  Before  entering  on 
his  campaign  against  monopolies,  Mr.  Thurber  undertook,  partly 
for  health  and  pleasure,  but  also  with  an  eye  for  business,  a  tour 
round  the  world  ;  one  conspicuous  object  down  on  his  programme 


FRANCIS     B.    THURBER.  409 

du  voyage  was  to  see  and  study  out  all  that  could  be  learned  rela- 
ting to  the  production  and  characteristics  of  different  varieties  of 
food  products.  In  pursuance  of  this  intent,  Mr.  Thurber  started 
in  the  summer  of  1876  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  whence 
he  took  passage  for  Yokohama,  on  the  old  Pacific  Mail  Company's 
steamer  "Alaska,"  making-  at  that  time  a  voyage  of  nearly  four 
weeks  duration,  and  which  forces  the  traveller  to  realize,  as  no 
description  can,  the  difference  in  magnitude  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific.  While  traversing  the  Orient,  Mr.  Thurber  com- 
menced a  series  of  descriptive  letters,  which  were  originally  pub- 
lished in  the  American  Grocer,  under  the  title  of  "Wayside  Scenes, 
Thoughts  and  Fancies,"  and  these  have  since  been  incorporated 
as  an  appendix  in  his  large  and  valuable  statistical  work  on  coffee, 
entitled,  "  Coffee  from  Plantation  to  Cup."  These  "  Wayside 
Scenes"  are  a  novelty  in -their  way,  because  they  present  natural 
scenery  and  views  of  foreign  countries  from  a  unique  standpoint. 
The  public  have  been  overwhelmed  with  stereotyped  books  of 
travel ;  one  writer  after  another  going  over  the  same  ground,  and 
describing  with  wearisome  unanimity  the  same  objects.  Art,  archi- 
tecture, pictures,  churches;  carnival  scenes  in  Rome;  bull-fights  in 
Madrid ;  china  in  Dresden,  and  Gobelin  tapestry  in  France  ;  bells 
in  Antwerp,  and  wind-mills  in  Holland;  Westminster  Abbey  and 
the  Tower — who  does  not  know  them  all  by  heart?  But  Mr. 
Thurber  largely  ignores  all  these  hackneyed  themes,  and  gives  his 
readers  an  insight  into  the  mode  of  cultivation  and  the  preparation 
for  market  of  many  of  the  various  products  in  which  he  and  all  of 
us  are  interested,  as  objects  of  every-day  use,  and  a  knowledge  of 
•  which  is  as  interesting  to  the  mass  of  readers  as  the  more  recherche 
topics  of  the  dilettanti  virtuoso.  For  instance,  in  Japan  Mr.  Thur- 
ber visits  the  tea  districts  and  the  tea  factories,  observing  with 
keen  minuteness  the  different  conditions  of  the  plants,  and  the  pro- 
cess of  making  all  the  different  brands  of  tea  out  of  simple  green 
leaves  from  the  same  plants.  Then,  on  going  to  China  and  to 
Java,  he  notes  the  difference  of  treatment  and  consequent  results 
upon  the  quality  of  teas  of  commerce. 


41 0  FRANCIS     B.    THURBER. 

In  Canton,  in  pursuit  of  his  peculiar  line  of  inquiry,  he  investi- 
gates the  cultivation  of  rice,  the  process  of  soy-making,  and  of  pre- 
serving ginger,  and  of  constructing  that  truly  oriental  net-work  of 
ratan,  by  which  the  jars  for  exportation  are  protected  from  injury. 
At  Singapore  the  pepper  and  tapioca  plantations  attract  his  ob- 
servation. In  Ceylon  the  cocoanut,  coffee  and  other  industries  are 
discussed,  while  all  kinds  of  spices  are  hunted  out  in  their  natural 
habitats  for  examination.  Arriving  in  Europe,  the  first  object  to 
claim  Mr.  Thurber's  attention  in  Greece  was,  not  the  works  of 
Phidias  or  Praxiteles,  not  Mars  Hill  or  the  plains  of  Marathon,  al- 
though these  were  not  unnoticed,  but  the  very  practical  matter  of 
the  currant  crop ;  and  much  curious  information  does  he  give  his 
readers  on  this  unusual  subject.  Of  course  olives  followed  next 
in  his  descent  upon  Italy,  while  the  process  of  making  citron  and 
macaroni  is  described  with  minuteness  and  fidelity.  In  Spain  we 
have  a  learned  dissertation  upon  the  drying  and  packing  of  raisin 
grapes.  In  France  wines  are  the  natural  topic  to  an  importer, 
and  this  curious  series  of  letters  closes  the  scenes  upon  the  conti- 
nent, by  a  visit,  not  strictly  in  the  line  of  business,  to  a  boucherie  de 
cheval. 

And  London,  what  does  our  unique  traveller  find  most  worthy 
of  description  in  the  ancient  city  of  King  Lud  ?  A  model  English 
grocery  store;  the  arrangement  of  which  is  given  with  such  par- 
ticularity that  any  New  York  merchant  might  follow  the  pattern 
if  so  disposed.  These  letters,  which,  it  must  be  noted,  were  writ- 
ten for  a  trade-journal,  and  therefore  but  little  indicative  of  the 
character  or  tendencies  of  the  writer,  contain  many  facts  of  value, 
not  only  to  the  trade  but  of  interest  to  every  consumer  of  the 
world's  food  products,  which  means  everybody.  The  principal 
object  of  this  long  voyage  was  health,  recreation  and  study,  the 
full  results  of  which  are  not  perhaps  apparent ;  the  dissertations 
upon  food  products,  which  were  written  partly  for  business  and 
partly  for  pleasure,  evidently  do  not  occupy  a  controlling  place  in 
Mr.  Thurber'a  mind,  although  they  form  a  good-sized  volume,  and 


FRANCIS     B.    THURBER.  411 

are  really  a  valuable  contribution  to  literature,  whether  considered 
in  a  statistical,  botanical  or  mercantile  light.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  the  chapters  devoted  to  coffee,  which  include  a  description 
of  the  geographical  peculiarities  of  the  different  countries  where 
this  indispensable  plant  is  cultivated,  and  the  climatic  effects  upon 
the  flavor  of  the  berry.  Also  a  description  of  the  Mocha,  Java, 
Ceylon,  East  Indian,  Liberian  and  other  African  coffees ;  the  Bra- 
zilian product ;  the  Haytian  and  San  Domingo  varieties ;  the  Porto 
Rico,  Maracaibo  and  Laguayra ;  the  Central  American  and  Mexi- 
can. The  chemical  analysis  and  medicinal  properties  are  given, 
the  adulterations  considered  and  exposed ;  the  statistics,  compris- 
ing everything  necessary  to  be  known  by  the  merchant  on  that 
point,  are  very  full,  and  are  combined  with  much  collateral  infor- 
mation. This  work  also  includes  many  suggestions  of  practical 
interest  to  consumers,  even  to  the  details  of  making  the  coffee  for 
daily  use.  A  graphic  sketch  is  also  given  of  the  "  King  of  the 
Coffee  Trade"  (B.  G.  Arnold),  "who  for  many  years  ruled  the 
coffee  market  of  the  country  as  absolutely  as  any  hereditary  mon- 
arch controls  his  kingdom ;  and  his  influence  was  felt  throughout 
the  commercial  world." 

In  addition  to  what  could  be  learned  by  personal  observation, 
and  by  these  investigations  carried  on  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  is  a  vast  amount  of  strictly  commercial  facts,  extended  over 
long  periods  of  time,  and  which  it  would  be  a  work  of  great  labor 
to  reproduce.  Like  a  true  epicure,  Mr.  Thurber  vehemently 
abhors  all  mixtures  and  adulterations  ;  execrating  the  chiccory 
delusion,  and  other  substitutes,  as  profoundly  as  M.  Grevy  himself. 
To  those  not  accustomed  to  special  investigations  of  this  nature  it 
would  be  surprising  to  see  how  large  a  subject  can  be  made  out 
of  the  familiar  berry.  To  aid  description,  Mr.  Thurber  has  illus- 
trated his  book  with  near  a  score  of  engravings,  several  showing 
the  various  kinds  of  machinery  used  in  picking,  drying,  cleaning 
and  hulling  the  coffee  berry :  two  very  suggestive  plates  are  those 
showing  the  different  appearance  of  the  pure  berry  when  ground, 
and  the  same  when  adulterated  with  the  anathematized  chiccory. 


412  FRANCIS     B.    THURBER. 

While  we  may  regard  a  portion  of  Mr.  Thurber's  writings  as  a 
direct  outcome  of  his  mercantile  pursuits,  in  the  matter  of  politics 
he  shows  a  degree  of  public  spirit  and  patriotism  worthy  of  imita- 
tion by  many  of  those  busy  citizens  who  are  so  entirely  absorbed 
in  money-making  as  to  have  no  thought  to  spare  for  the  com- 
munity, by  and  through  whom  they  are  enabled  to  heap  up  the 
wealth  that  dazzles  them.  If  we  here  give  Mr.  Thurber's  views 
on  some  of  the  great  questions  of  the  day  it  is  simply  to  show  the 
spirit  which  animates  him,  and  we  neither  commit  ourselves  to  his 
theories  nor  reject  them,  but  merely  describe  them.  He  is  then 
absolutely  and  solidly  entrenched  as  an  Anti-Monopolist,  and 
from  this  standpoint  he  has  taken  many  opportunities,  by  voice 
and  pen,  to  impress  his  sentiments  on  the  community,  and  in  his 
vigorous  language  to  warn  his  fellow-citizens  of  the  "breakers 
ahead,"  which  he  discerns  in  the  growth  of  the  powerful  monopolies 
he  describes ;  in  the  papers,  through  the  magazines  and  reviews, 
in  privately  published  brochures,  as  well  as  from  the  platform,  he 
has  for  several  years  persevered  in  denouncing  these  incubi,  as  he 
graphically  describes  them.  That  Mr.  Thurber  does  not  object  to 
the  mere  possession  of  large  wealth  either  by  corporations  or 
individuals  is  plain;  otherwise  he  would  condemn  himself;  it  is 
not  the  legitimate  accumulation  of  property  which  he  attacks 
under  the  name  of  "  Monopoly,"  but  such  combinations  of  in- 
dividuals or  corporate  bodies  as  are  injurious  to  the  public 
interests,  and  have  become  the  distributing  reservoirs  of  demoral- 
izing influences,  and  of  political  corruption — "the  wealthy  criminal 
classes,"  as  they  have  been  aptly  styled  by  that  outspoken  minister 
'of  the  gospel,  Howard  Crosby.. 

In  several  thoughtful  papers  furnished  to  Scribners,  the  Inter- 
national Review  and  the  Nineteenth  Century  he  undertakes  to  ex- 
plain why  the  wealthy  capitalist  realizes  so  much 'greater  relative 
benefit  from  what  is  called  the  "progress  of  the  age"  than  does  the 
laborer.  Steam  power  arid  machinery  he  argues  are  the  forces 
used  by  capital  to  multiply  products  a  thousand-fold  over  the 


FRANCIS     B.    THURBER.  413 

possibilities  of  hand  labor ;  hence,  if  the  laborer  is  to  have  his 
relatively  proper  share  of  benefits  resulting  from  these  improve- 
ments, he  should  have  higher  wages  and  reduced  hours  of  labor. 
Instead  of  this,  capital  keeps  down  the  price  of  wages  by  import- 
ing pauper  labor  from  Europe ;  Scandinavians,  Irish,  Italians  are 
brought  over  by  thousands  to  take  the  place  of  factory  hands,* 
longshoremen,  or  miners  who  ask  for  living  wages  ;  the  great 
money  power  thus  nullifying  the  "  protective  tariff,"  which  does 
indeed  keep  out  the  so-called  products  of  pauper  labor  (thus  pre- 
venting all  classes  from  buying  at  the  cheapest  rate)  ;  while 
capital  secures  to  itself  the  double  advantage  of  importing  the 
cheap 'laborer — who  is  not  on  the  tariff  schedule  ! — for  its  own  uses, 
to  the  oppression  and  degradation  of  the  American  laborer.  One, 
then,  of  the  crying  wrongs  which  Mr.  Thurber  claims  that  the  rich 
monopolist  perpetrates  upon  the  working  man  is  in  absorbing  all, 
or  very  nearly  all,  the  benefits  which  have  accrued  from  the  inven- 
tive spirit  of  the  age. 

But  it  is  to  the  Railroad  Kings  that  Mr.  Thurber  devotes  his 
most  serious  attention  and  against  whom  he  plies  his  most  earnest 
arguments.  These  monopolists  par-excellence  he  charges  with 
having  first  defrauded  the  people  by  falsifying  construction  ac- 
counts ;  by  watering  stock  and  by  extortionate  fares  ;  and  injuring 
some  for  the  benefit  of  others  by  unjustly  discriminating  in  freight- 
rates,  and  fostering  other  kinds  of  monopolies  by  preferential 
agreements,  and  then,  by  debauching  judges,  corrupting  legislators, 
and  bribing  voters,  intimidating  employes  and  even  invading  the 
Cabinet  and  influencing  the  late  head  of  the  nation  to  make  ap- 
pointments consistent  only  with  their  exclusive  interests.  In 
proof  of  all  these  accusations,  Mr.  Thurber  quotes  from  public  and 
official  documents;  from  the  sworn  testimony  of  some  of  the 
leading  capitalists  of  the  country,  and  from  the  personal  experience 
of  business  men  like  himself. 

Believing  most  thoroughly  that  these  giant  monopolies  threaten 
to  destroy  the  liberty  of  the  citizen,  to  control  the  political  ma- 


414  FRANCIS     B.    THURBER. 

chinery  of  the  country,  and  actually  to  govern  it,  through  the  cor- 
rupt use  of  its  enormous  money  power,  Mr.  Thurber  has  devoted 
his  time,  money  and  influence  to  arouse  the  community  to  a  sense 
of  the  danger  to  the  whole  country  which  lies  hidden  in  the  cen- 
tral offices  of  the  railroad  magnates.  Throwing  himself  into  the 
movement  as  a  working  leader  of  the  Anti-Monopoly  party,  he 
took  an  active  share  in  the  last  presidential  election,  and  on  many 
occasions  his  oratorical  arguments  on  the  political  and  lecture 
platform  have  carried  conviction  to  many  listeners  who  originally 
came  to  criticise.  In  one  of  these,  delivered  before  the  Thomas 
Jefferson  Club  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  Mr.  Thurber  takes  the 
ground  that  the  abolition  of  the  law  of  primogeniture  by  our  revo- 
lutionary ancestors  is  becoming  practically  of  non-effect  so  far 
as  the  principle  aimed  at  is  concerned.  The  old  law  of  primo- 
geniture was  intended  to  keep  landed  property  in  a  few  hands  by 
natural  descent ;  and  thus  was  created  a  landed  aristocracy.  It 
was  the  policy  of  our  early  legislators  to  prevent  this  accumula- 
tion, believing  it  best  for  the  interests  of  the  whole  country  that 
wealth  should  be  more  generally  and  ^equally  diffused ;  out  our 
anti-monopoly  orator  argues  that  the  railroad  kings,  by  their  great 
gains,  and  especially  through  the  immense  land  grants  which  they 
have  wrung  from  Congress  and  the  several  States,  have  in  fact 
already  become  a  landed  aristocracy,  and  threaten  to  remain  so  in 
perpetuity. 

It  is  rare  indeed  that  a  person  in  active  and  successful  business 
feels  impelled  to  turn  aside  from  the  counting-room  and  mart  to 
engage  in  the  work  of  political  reform  ;  in  fact,  too  many  of  our 
business  men  neglect  altogether  their  political  duties,  and,  shirk- 
ing the  responsibilities  of  citizenship,  leave  the  control  of  such 
matters,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  in  the  hands  of  the  design- 
ing and  the  ignorant;  we  look  upon  it  therefore  as  highly  com- 
mendable .when  a  man  overcrowded  with  other  duties  still  finds 
time  to  warn  his  fellow-citizens  of  dangers  which  he  believes 
threaten  our  free  institutions.  Not  to  despair  of  the  republic  was 


FRANCIS     B.    THURBER.  415 

one  of  the  virtues  demanded  of  every  Roman  citizen ;  that  he  may 
not  have  to  despair  of  it,  Mr.  Thurber  sets  his  lance  in  rest,  and  ever 
and  anon  makes  most  vigorous  thrusts  at  the  tyrannical  power  which 
menaces  its  future.  While  taking  a  lively  interest  in  public  affairs 
he  has  long  occupied  a  first  place  in  the  commercial  world ;  he 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  York  Board  of  Trade,  and 
has  long  been  a  prominent  member  of  the  New  York  Chamber 
of  Commerce  and  other  commercial  organizations. 

Though  very  earnest  in  what  he  considers  right,  Mr.  Thurber 
is  of  too  genial  a  disposition  to  be  wholly  absorbed  in  business  or 
politics ;  he  has  a  strong  humoristic  trait  in  his  character,  and  his 
imagination,  if  he  would  take  time  to  give  it  play,  is  capable  of 
producing  far  other  productions  than  business  statistics ;  in  his 
"Character  Sketches"  we  get  more  than  glimpses  of  a  very  fine 
imaginative  wit.  He  is  a  young  man  yet,  and  doubtless  his  best 
literary  work  is  not  yet  performed. 

The  business  of  this  firm  extends  to  other  cities  and  countries 
than  our  own,  where  "The  Thurbers"  have  depots,  notably  their 
branch  houses  in  London  and  in  Bordeaux.  The  firm  are  not 
mere  buyers  and  sellers ;  they  manufacture  largely  as  well  as  deal 
in  all  varieties  of  food  products.  They  have  a  capital  invested  in 
this  business  estimated  at  several  millions,  beside  large  sums  in 
real  estate.  The  firm  until  recently  consisted  of  Horace  K.  Thur- 
ber, Francis  B.  Thurber,  Albert  E.  Whyland,  Alexis  Godillot,  Jr., 
and  Jacob  S.  Gates,  but  owing  to  impaired  health  and  the  desire 
to  take  much  needed  rest  Mr.  H.  K.  Thurber  retired  from  its 
active  management  February  i,  1884,  and  several  junior  partners 
were  admitted.  Mr.  Godillot  is  in  charge  of  the  Bordeaux  branch 
house,  and  Mr.  Gates  in  that  of  the  London  establishment.  It  is 
to  such  public-spirited  citizens  as  the  Thurbers,  and  their  like, 
that  the  metropolis  owes  much  of  its  character  for  enterprise,  and 
a  certainty  felt  by  the  whole  country  that  whenever  called  upon 
for  public  service,  or  a  large  charity,  there  is  sure  to  be  a  generous 
response. 


A.   A.   LOW. 

MR.  ABIEL  ABBOT  Low,  ex-President  of  the  New  York  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  and  a  merchant  of  fifty  years'  standing  in  the 
metropolis,  is  a  native  of  Salem,  Massachusetts.  While  still  a 
minor  his  father,  the  late  Seth  Low,  removed  to  New  York,  and 
opened  a  business  in  chemicals  on  Broad  street.  Abiel  was  early 
inducted  into  the  mysteries  of  imports  and  exports,  his  father  hav- 
ing connections  with  the  China  and  East  India  trade,  and  his  sons 
acting  as  clerks  until  of  age,  when  they  successively  became  part- 
ners. When  a  young  man,  Mr.  A.  A.  Low  visited  China  to  ob- 
serve the  indications  of  trade,  while  at  the  same  time  filling  a  clerk- 
ship ;  he  was  subsequently  invited  to  become  partner  in  the  house 
of  Russell  &  Co.,  Canton,  which  offer  he  accepted,  remaining  in 
that  connection  eight  years,  from  1833  to  1841. 

Having  dissolved  his  relations  with  Russell  &  Co.,  he  returned 
to  the  United  States,  and  having  fortunately  taken  passage  on  a 
fast  sailer — steamers  not  then  being  employed  in  the  Eastern 
trade — he  was  able  to  announce  to  his  own  house  a  remarkable  rise 
in  the  price  of  tea.  The  firm,  already  arranged,  of  "A.  A.  Low  & 
Brothers,"  were  thus  enabled  to  take  advantage  of  the  market,  and 
by  this  transaction  it  is  said  that  Mr.  Low  made  $20,000.  This 
gave  the  house  also  its  reputation  as  the  leading  American  firm  in 
the  China  trade,  which  it  long  preserved.  Though  tea  was  a  lead- 
ing article,  it  was  only  one  among  many  China  products  imported 
by  the  Low  Brothers — sending  out  assorted  cargoes,  of  which 
clocks,  ginseng,  and  cotton  prints  always  formed  a  part;  their 
ships  returned  laden  with  teas,  rice,  ginger,  nankeens,  silk,  crapes, 
mattings,  bamboo,  lacquered  ware,  etc.,  etc. 

From  the  China  trade  to  the  Japan  trade  was  a  natural  transi- 
(416) 


ABIEL     ABBOT     LOW.  417 

tion,  or  rather  addition,  for,  when  the  latter  was  added,  the  former 
was  still  retained ;  and  it  was  in  connection  with  this  new  opening 
to  commerce  that  Mr.  Low  made  his  journey  around  the  world. 
Having  reached  San  Francisco,  via  the  Isthmus  route,  in  1867,  he 
proceeded  from  thence  to  Hong  Kong  and  Yokohama,  going  in 
the  first  steamer  of  the  "  China  mail  "  line.  While  in  Japan  he 
established  a  branch  house  there,  and  then  proceeding  to  Cal- 
cutta, where  the  house  also  had  correspondents,  he  returned,  via 
Europe,  to  the  United  States. 

For  several -years  in  succession  Mr.  Low  was  President  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  resigning  that  position  previous  to  his  ex- 
'tended  journey.  In  his  official  action,  at  the  head  of  this  important 
organization,  Mr.  Low  is  remembered  as  displaying,  not  only  great 
executive  ability,  but  a  very  keen  judgment  in  the  various,  often 
conflicting,  interests  which  came  before  that  body  for  consideration. 
During  the  war  this  firm  lost  many  vessels,  which,  with  their 
valuable  cargoes,  were  captured  by  Confederate  cruisers  under 
Admiral  Semmes  and  others ;  but  these  personal  losses  did  not 
weaken  Mr.  Low's  sense  of  duty  toward  the  support  of  the 
Government.  He  not  only  stimulated  the  patriotism  of  others  by 
his  public  attitude,  but  gave  freely  of  his  means  for  the  same 
object ;  particularly  was  he  interested  in  those  distressed  factory 
operatives  in  England  who  were  thrown  out  of  employment  by 
thousands  in  the  manufacturing  cities  by  the  interruption  of  the 
cotton-trade  on  account  of  the  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports. 
When  the  merchants  of  New  York  organized  for  their  relief,  Mr. 
Low  not  only  contributed  largely  to  the  funds,  but  acted  as 
treasurer,  and  largely  as  corresponding  secretary,  devoting  many 
hours  to  this  international  benevolence  amid  the  constant  pressure 
of  other  demands  upon  his  time.  He  also  aided,  financially,  the 
United  States  Sanitary  Commission. 

Mr.  Low's  business  speculations  have  not  been  limited  to  mer- 
cantile affairs  ;  for  many  years  he  has  been  interested  in  various 
railroads.  In  1872  he,  with  his  brother  Josiah,  lost  about  half  a 
27 


41 8  ABIEL     ABBOT     LOW. 

million  of  dollars  in  stock  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railroad. 
From  this  loss  Mr.  A.  A.  Low  quickly  rallied,  but  his  brother's 
health  was  seriously  affected  by  the  nervous  strain  he  had  under- 
gone. Again,  in  1873,  during  that  epidemic  of  falling  securities, 
Mr.  Low  is  said  to  have  lost  half  his  fortune,  and  it  was  well  that 
his  mercantile  affairs  could  be  depended  upon  to  furnish  fresh 
funds  for  speculative  fields.  He  had  his  financial  recompenses 
later,  being  one  of  those  who  made  a  small  fortune  out  of  the 
"  Nickel-Plate "  venture.  Not  less  than  a  million  of  dollars  is 
credited  to  him  on  account  of  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson 
River  Railroad.  Indeed,  his  more  recent  successes  in  speculative 
securities  have  given  some  force  to  the  rumor  that  the  old  busi- 
ness in  Burling  slip  is  likely  to  be  abandoned,  and  that  Mr.  Low 
will  establish  a  banking-house.  When  the  Lows  commenced  the 
trade  with  China  there  was  comparatively  little  competition ;  now, 
however,  the  rivalry  of  other  houses  is  very  keen,  and  it  would 
not  be  surprising  if  the  firm-name  of  A.  A.  Low  &  Co.  disappears 
from  the  mercantile  circles  of  New  York,  to  reappear  among  the 
financiers  of  Wall  street.  Mr.  Low  has  not  dealt  very  extensively 
in  real  estate,  but  holds  some  very  valuable  property  in  Brooklyn. 
His  residence  on  Columbia  Heights  overlooks,  on  the  easterly 
side,  a  small  park,  part  of  which  he  owns.  This  small  plot  of  land 
thus  reserved  from  the  invasion  of1}rick  and  mortar  is  a  very 
restful  spot  for  the  eyes  of  all  passers,  occupying,  as  it  does,  a 
section  of  land  in  the  most  fashionable  part  of  the  city,  and  which 
would  bring  a  very  high  price  if  put  into  the  market,  and  for 
which  reservation  every  passenger  by  the  Wall  street  ferry  is 
duly  grateful.  Mr.  Low  erected  last  year,  on  Court  street,  oppo- 
site the  City  Hall,  in  Brooklyn,  an  immense  brick  building  for 
orifices.  It  is  seven  stories  high,  with  a  clock  tower  rising  many 
feet  above  all  adjoining  buildings.  This  structure  he  has  christened 
the  "  Garfield  building,"  the  statement  of  which  fact  will  relieve  the 
writer  from  describing  more  particularly  his  political  proclivities. 
At  his  residence  in  Newport  Mr.  Low  spends  the  summer  months. 


ABIEL    ABBOT    LOW.  419 

About  1850  Mr.  Low  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Mott  Bebell, 
a  man  of  considerable  wealth  and  large  real-estate  owner  in 
Brooklyn.  This  lady,  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  to  Mr.  A.  A. 
Low,  was  the  widow  of  his  brother.  He  has  several  children, 
(among  them  being  Mr.  Seth  Low,  the  present  Mayor  of  Brooklyn. 
In  all  that  relates  to  the  prosperity  of  both  New  York  and  Brook- 
lyn, Mr.  Low  has  acted  the  part  of  a  good  citizen,  helping  forward 
by  his  money  and  his  influence  particularly  those  literary  and 
aesthetic  enterprises  which  have  given  a  character  of  refinement 
and  culture  to  the  latter  city.  He  was  one  of  three  gentlemen  to 
whom  is  mainly  owing  the  establishment  of  the  Long  Island  His- 
torical Society  on  a  firm  and  permanent  financial  basis,  helping  to 
form  an  endowment  fund  which  has  placed  the  Society  beyond  de- 
pendence upon  the  fluctuating  numbers  of  annual  subscribers. 
The  family's  old  homestead  on  Concord  street  is  now  occupied  by 
a  charitable  society.  Nor  has  he  forgotten  the  place  of  his  birth, 
the  old  historic  Salem.  In  1874  he  gave  to  that  city  the  sum  of 
$5,000  to  establish  the  "  Low  Educational  Fund."  The  object  of 
this  is  to  aid  poOr  students  through  college.  The  present  year 
(1883)  he  has  added  to  this  fund  the  sum  of  $2,500. 

In  religious  faith  Mr.  Low  is  a  Unitarian,  and  in  all  pertaining 
to  the  church  of  his  choice  he  is  a  liberal  donor.  His  name  is 
associated  with  many  good  works,  and  his  old  age  is  a  happy  and 
honored  one. 


SILAS   C.  HERRING. 

"HERRING'S  SAFES"  are  as  widely  known  as  the  circuits  of  com- 
merce extend,  but  very  little  is  known  of  the  original  constructor. 
His  career,  like  that  of  many  other  millionaires,  commenced  widely 
divergent  from  where  it  ended,  and  the  business  in  which  he  finally 
made  his  great  fortune  was  never  for  a  moment  thought  of  by  him, 
until  circumstances  wholly  unsought  placed  the  possibility  in  his 
way.  His  merit  is,  that  he  seized  the  opportunity  when  it  offered. 
Silas  C.  Herring  was  born  in  the  town  of  Brookfield,  Massachu- 
setts, in  the  year  1804,  and  received  the  ordinary  school  education 
of  that  time  and  place,  which  was  tolerably  thorough  in  the  "three 
R's,"  but  did  not  go  much  beyond.  Massachusetts  has  always 
been  a  great  State  to  emigrate  from:  while  Maine  and  New  Hamp- 
shire people  pour  into  Boston,  and  French  Canadians  settle  in  the 
agricultural  parts,  every  year  witnesses  a  great  exodus  of  young 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  old  Bay  State  to  New  York,  Chicago,  and 
the  Great  West.  Silas  C.  Herring  happened  to  have  an  uncle  in 
the  grocery  business  in  Albany,  and  so,  when  he  was  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  he  determined  to  go  there,  having  tired  of  the  little 
inland  town  which  offered  no  new  openings  to  its  ambitious  youths. 
Very  slenderly  equipped  was  he,  with  a  single  suit  of  clothes,  and 
only  a  few  dimes  above  the  necessary  travelling  fare.  His  clothes 
were  homespun  and  home-cut,  but  his  hopes  were  large,  and  he 
thought  nothing  of  his  rustic  appearance,  for  he  knew  nothing  of 
city  life.  There  was  then  no  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad,  nor 
had  the  great  Hoosac  Tunnel  been  dreamed  of:  private  convey- 
ance or  the  stage  coach  was  the  only  resource  except  pedestrian- 
ism.  In  the  grocery  business  he  remained  about  six  years.  After 
this  period  the  uncle  thought  there  was  more  money  to  be  made 
(420) 


SILAS   C.    HERRING. 


SILAS     C.    HERRING.  421 

in  the  lottery  business  than  in  selling  groceries.  There  was  then 
little  or  no  prejudice  against  lottery,  and  in  some  States  they  were 
even  organized  to  aid  in  raising  money  for  public  works.  Selling 
lottery  tickets  fifty  years  ago  was  considered  quite  a  different 
moral  action  from  what  it  would  be  viewed  at  the  present  time. 
At  all  events  into  this  business  uncle  and  nephew  entered, 
and  with  such  good  success  that  at  the  end  of  a  few  years, 
when  the  elder  partner  died,  the  share  of  Silas  amounted  to 
$10,000.  Mr.  Herring  continued  the  business  in  connection 
with  Mr.  R.  Gough  a  few  years  longer,  and  then  disposed  of  it, 
wishing  to  come  to  New  York,  and  enter  into  some  more  legiti- 
mate trade. 

In  1834,  having  considerable  capital,  he  opened  a  wholesale 
grocery  store  at  No.  33  Front  street  with  a  partner  named 
Green — the  firm-name  being  "  Herring  &  Green."  Unfortu- 
nately the  next  year,  1835,  occurred  the  "great  fire,"  in  which 
they  were  burnt  out,  and  though  fully  insured  they  got  noth- 
ing: the  insurance  offices  having  failed  from  the  same  cause. 
But  having  good  credit — the  circumstances  of  the  failure  be- 
ing so  exceptional — they  were  enabled  to  start  again ;  but 
two  years  later  came  the  great  financial  crash  of  1837,  when 
they  suffered  shipwreck  with  so  many  others ;  and  this  com- 
ing so  soon  after  the  fire  the  firm  failed  to  recover  from  the 
shock. 

At  this  epoch,  or  soon  after,  Mr.  Herring  happened  to  meet 
that  quaint  old  scientific  genius  Mr.  Enos  Wilder,  who,  among 
other  things,  had  been  experimenting  with  incombustible  materials, 
and  in  this  pursuit  had  discovered  the  value  of  plaster  of  Paris  as 
a  non-conductor  of  heat.  The  so-called  "  safes  "  of  that  period 
were  merely  iron  chests  lined  with  wood :  of  course  very  imper- 
fect, if  exposed  to  a  fire  hot  enough  to  make  the  iron  red  hot 
the  wood  must  ignite ;  but  when  Mr.  Wilder  announced  his  dis- 
covery he  was  met  with  laughs  of  derision  and  utter  incredulity  by 
the  merchants  whom  his  invention  was  destined  so  greatly  to 


422  SILAS     C.    HERRING.  •'.," 

benefit.  To  test  the  comparative  value  of  the  "  safes  "  in  ordinary 
use,  and  the  new  "Salamander"  safe  constructed  by  Mr.  Wilder, 
the  latter  challenged  a  public  exhibition  of  the  merits  in  1840. 
The  place  selected  for  the  experiment  was  the  Coffee  House 
Hook  at  the  foot  of  Wall  street ;  an  immense  fire  being  built 
within  an  enclosure  of  brickwork,  and  an  old  style  "  safe  "  and  a 
"Salamander"  being  subjected  to  the  same  amount  of  heat,  it  was 
found  that  all  the  contents  of  the  old  safe  had  been  consumed, 
while  everything  within  the  "  Salamander  "  remained  intact.  Fore- 
seeing the  immense  popularity  which  must  result  from  this  suc- 
cessful test  of  the  ^Salamander,  Mr.  Herring  accepted  the  agency 
for  the  sale  of  the  new  safe,  and  so  well  did  he  push  the  business 
that  at  the  end  of  three  years  he  was  enabled  to  buy  the  sole 
right  to  manufacture  the  Salamanders  by  paying  a  royalty  of  one 
cent  per  pound  to  Mr.  Wilder.  The  first  factory  was  located 
on  Water  street  at  the  corner  of  De  Peyster.  The  price  of 
these  safes  at  first  ranged  from  forty  dollars  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty — a  mere  nothing  to  the  cost  of  a  modern  first-class 
"  Herring." 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Herring  became  the  sole  possessor  of  the  Sal- 
amander safe  business,  he  began  to  make  experiments  looking  to- 
wards all  possible  improvements;  of  course  the  changes  made 
were  kept  secret  from  the  public ;  but  having  full  faith  in  its  su- 
periority over  all  others,  Mr.  Herring  decided  to  offer  another 
public  test,  and  he  issued  a  general  challenge  to  all  safe  manufac- 
turers in  the  United  States  to  submit  their  safes  with  his  to  a  cru- 
cial experiment.  The  test  was  to  be  made  as  before  at  the  foot 
of  Wall  street.  Two  New  York  firms  and  one  Philadelphia  man- 
ufacturer accepted  the  invitation,  and  sent  forward  their  model 
safes ;  and  these  three,  with  one  of  Mr.  Herring's,  were  placed  in 
the  brick  furnace  prepared  for  them.  They  were  subjected  to  a 
powerful  fire  for  several  hours ;  when  the  mass  of  fire,  brick,  and 
iron  had  cooled  sufficiently  to  permit  examination,  the  Salamander 
safe  alone  was  found  to  have  preserved  its  contents  uninjured. 


SILAS    C.    HERRING. 


423 


An  unforeseen  artistic  result  was  an  incident  of  this  experiment. 
Horace  Greeley  having  been  present  during  the  testing  of  the 
safes,  the  idea  seized  upon  Mr.  Herring  to  cause  a  large  picture 
to  be  engraved  representing  the  event,  with  Mr.  Greeley  and 
James  Gordon  Bennett  prominent  in  the  foreground.  But  fate 
soon  provided  for  Mr.  Herring  a  better  test  of  the  practical  value 
of  his  safe  than  any  pre-arranged  experiments  could  do. 

In  1845  the  Tribune  building  was  destroyed  by  fire.  In  the 
office  was  a  large  Salamander  safe,  containing  valuable  books, 
papers  and  bonds ;  when  the  safe  fell  among  the  debris  in  the 
ruins,  it  was  covered  up  with  several  thicknesses  of  wall,  which  fell 
upon'  it,  and  on  these  bricks  the  water  froze,  helping  to  keep  the 
cold  air  from  reaching  the  safe  below ;  it  was  some  days  after  the 
rubbish  had  been  cleared  away  before  the  safe  had  become  cool 
enough  to  be  opened ;  when  it  was,  to  the  great  relief  of  Mr. 
Greeley  and  the  delight  of  Mr.  Herring,  every  book  and  paper 
was  found  to  be  safe.  The  days  of  artificial  experiments  were 
over.  As  a  result  of  the  reputation  thus  fortuitously  added  to  the 
safe,  Mr.  Herring  was  obliged  to  remove  his  factory  to  ampler 
quarters,  and  we  next  find  him  occupying  a  large  building  on 
Washington  street;  but  by  1849  tms  location  had  become  too 
strait,  and  the  present  site  was  built  and  occupied,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  Ninth  avenue  and  Hudson  street.  This  building  covers 
half  an  acre  of  ground,  is  five  stories  in  height,  and  in  it  are  em- 
ployed 600  men.  Instead  of  $40  safes,  those  ranging  from  $500 
to  $50,000  are  now  manufactured.  ,  ; 

While  there  was  anything  to  learn  about  safe-making,  Mr.  Her- 
ring never  ceased  his  inquiries  nor  his  efforts  to  attain  perfection. 
He  set  chemists  to  work  experimenting  on  new  combinations,  to 
find  absolute  non-conductors  against  any  amount  of  heat  by  which 
a  safe  could  be  surrounded.  Shortly  previous  to  the  first  London 
Exposition,  Mr.  Herring  paid  a  large  sum  to  a  chemist  of  Phila- 
delphia for  the  information  that  carbonated  chalk,  which  is  a  re- 
siduum from  the  manufacture  of  mineral  water,  was  the  best 


424  SILAS     C     HERRING. 

resistant  of  heat  discovered  up  to  that  date.  A  safe  was  made  with 
this  non-conducting  substance  as  an  interlining,  was  taken  to  Lon- 
don, and  a  challenge  sent  forth  to  all  European  manufacturers  to 
enter  into  a  joint  test  of  the  respective  merits.^  No  one  ventured 
to  take  up  .the  gage  thus  boldly  thrown  to  the  world.  Mr.  Her- 
ring, who  was  a  typical  Yankee,  and  a  sensational  advertiser  by 
nature,  then  placed  a  $1,000  bill  in  the  safe,  and  offered  to  give  it 
to  any  one  who  could  pick  the  lock.  This  induced  a  great  many 
expert  mechanics — and  doubtless  some  professional  burglars,  too, 
if  the  whole  truth  were  known — to  try  their  skill  upon  it,  but  none 
succeeded — adding  a  new  note  of  triumph  to  the  pseans  sung  by 
the  builders  of  the  "  Herring  Safe."  In  four  years  after  Mr.  Her- 
ring's agreement  with  Mr.  Wilder  had  elapsed  the  original  patent 
expired,  during  which  time  the  latter  had  received  $150,000  in 
royalties.  Of  course,  Mr.  Herring  had  patented  his  own  improve- 
ments, and  henceforth  his  name  alone  was  recognized  in  the  busi- 
ness. What  profit  he  had  made  out  of  the  old  patent  is  not  pre- 
cisely known,  but  that  it  was  very  large  no  one  acquainted  with 
the  popularity  of  his  safes  can  doubt. 

Though  so  energetic  a  business  man,  Mr.  Herring  was  never  so 
entirely  engrossed  in  his  own  affairs  as  to  neglect  his  duty  as  a 
citizen.  He  was  an  "old-line  Henry  Clay-Daniel  Webster  Whig," 
and  later  a  Republican.  While  he  was  quite  a  young  man  in  Al- 
bany, he  was  appointed  by  the  governor  as  Paymaster  of  the  Fifth 
Regiment  of  State  Artillery,  and  was  afterwards  elected  its  colonel. 
In  1847  he  was  chosen  Assistant- Alderman  of  the  Ninth  Ward, 
and  the  next  year  he  served  as  alderman.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  incorporators  of  the  Juvenile  Asylum,  and  liberally  con- 
tributed towards,  its  support ;  his  benefactions,  however,  were 
mostly  of  a  private  nature  while  he  lived.  He  was  a  director  in 
several  banks— the  Broadway,  the  Importers'  and  Traders',  the 
Manhattan,  and  the  Broadway  Savings  Banks  ;  as  also  the  Na- 
tional Life  Insurance  Company,  the  Park  Fire  Insurance  Company, 
and  the  Firemen's  Fund  Company. 


SILAS     C.    HERRING.  425 

During-  the  civil  war  Mr.  Herring  was  a  strong  Union  man ; 
two  of  his  sons  volunteered,  joined  the  army,  and  went  to  the 
front.  One  of  them  came  not  back — young  Silas  F.  Herring  fell 
in  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro.  His  other  son  returned,  to  become 
the  head  of  the  manufacturing  firm  after  the  withdrawal  of  his 
father  from  active  business. 

Mr.  Herring  lived  to  his  seventy-eighth  year,  dying  suddenly 
of  apoplexy  in  his  country  home  at  Plainfield,  New  Jersey.  He 
was  for  many  years  an  attendant  at  the  Church  of  the  Divine  Pa- 
ternity (Universalist),  in  New  York,  of  which  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Chapin  was  long  pastor,  now  Dr.  Pullman's.  He  left  a  widow  and 
son  and  two  daughters.  His  public  bequests  were  numerous. 


JOHN    BURNSIDE. 

ONE  day  in  July,  1883,  ten  gentlemen  of  New  Orleans  might 
be  seen  entering  a  mansion  on  Washington  street  in  that  city ; 
proceeding  towards  a  desk  in  the  dining-room  they  commenced  a 
systematic  search  of  the  contents  ;  presently  one  of  the  party  laid 
his  hand  on  a  small  buff-colored  envelope  on  which  was  written, 
"  This  is  my  holographic  will :  John  Burnside."  The  bank  with 
which  the  deceased  principally  dealt  had  already  been  visited  by 
the  same  party  of  investigators,  who  hoped  that  a  will  of  recent 
date  might  there  be  deposited — that  which  had  been  found  had 
been  in  existence  nearly  thirty  years,  its  date  being  April,  1857. 
Its  author  was  a  rich  bachelor  who  had  died  on  the  loth  of  June 
previously  at  the  age  of  eighty.  There  was  some  mystery  about 
his  origin,  but  the  truth  was  probably  told  by  his  adopted  father, 
Andrew  Bierne,  who  relates  that  he  was  one  day  riding  through 
Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  when  he  stopped  to  water  his  horse 
at  a  brook,  and  there  found  an  infant  boy  carefully  wrapped  up 
and  asleep  on  a  bed  of  rushes.  Not  seeing  anybody  near,  and 
searching  vainly  for  its  parents,  he  took  the  child  to  his  own  home, 
where  it  was  kindly  cared  for,  and  no  one  appearing  to  claim  it, 
he  named  the  boy  Burnside,  as  having  been  found  by  the  side  of  a 
burn  (or  brook).  Andrew  Bierne,  who  was  himself  in  mercantile 
business,  brought  the  lad  up  in  the  same  ;  made  him  successively 
clerk  and  agent,  and  finally  established  him  in  New  Orleans  with 
his  own  son,  Oliver.  They  dealt  in  various  kinds  of  goods ;  he 
had  large  sugar  plantations,  and  when  General  Butler  was  in  com- 
mand at  New  Orleans  he  saved  his  crop  from  confiscation  by 
claiming  to  be  a  British  subject ;  one  instance,  at  least,  in  which  it 
is  certain  that  the  general  was  imposed  upon.  For  a  great  many 
(426) 


JOHN     BURN  SIDE.  427 

years  he  had  the  largest  dry-goods  store  in  the  city,  and  was  often 
called  "  the  Stewart  of  New  Orleans." 

Mr.  Burnside  was  in  many  respects  an  eccentric  man.  He  lived 
in  a  large  one-story  stone  house,  the  house  and  grounds  occupy- 
ing a  whole  block,  at  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Camp  streets; 
though  not  considered  a  social  man,  he  was  fond  of  entertaining 
foreigners  of  distinction  and  some  few  of  his  fellow-citizens,  but 
usually  lived  alone  with  his  servants ;  he  delighted  in  the  collec- 
tion of  paintings,  of  which  he  had  a  large  gallery  which  he  annually 
threw  open  to  the  public,  and  once  a  year  also  gave  a  party  at 
his  house,  to  which  every  one  whom  he  knew  was  invited.  He 
would  not  allow  himself  to  be  importuned  to  give  to  this  and  that 
at  other  people's  desire,  and  from  this  fact  he  acquired  the  char- 
acter of  a  very  close  man,  but  he  had  his  own  way  of  doing  things, 
and  at  one  time  gave  $500,000  to  the  State  of  Louisiana  to  be 
divided  among  charitable  institutions,  leaving  the  State  to  choose 
which. 

While  Mr.  Burnside  lived  he  always  said  .he  had  no  relations, 
nor  was  he  ever  willing  to  talk  of  his  origin  or  early  days ;  a  per- 
son who  had  been  fellow-clerk  with  him  at  one  time,  calling  upon 
him  when  he  was  in  the  full  tide  of  success  at  New  Orleans,  was 
received  by  him  very  cordially,  but  when  the  visitor  unfortunately 
referred  to  his  host's  early  life  the  latter  became  enraged  and  did 
not  again  speak  to  him  upon  any  subject,  then  or  afterwards.  Yet 
when  Mr.  Burnside  died  and  it  became  known  that  he  had  left 
from  $5,000,000  to  $8,000,000,  hosts  of  professed  relations  sprang 
up  in  different  quarters,  some  people  even  pretending  to  locate  his 
birth-place  and  give  the  names  of  his  ancestors.  Every  one  with 
the  name  of  Burnside  began  to  claim  him  for  a  cousin,  but  the 
public  administrator  was  sharp,  and  the  judge  decided  to  admit  to 
probate  the  will  of  1857.  By  this  testament,  written  by  the  hand 
of  the  testator,  but  at  a  time  when  his  estate  did  not  much  exceed 
$2,000,000,  Mr.  Oliver  Bierne,  of  Virginia,  son  of  the  gentleman 
who  had  rescued  him  in  infancy,  was  made  the  residuary  legatee, 


428  JOHN     BURNSIDE. 

after  the  payment  of  the  following  bequests :  To  Burnside  Mc- 
Stea,  $50,000;  to  Burnside  Value,  $25,000;  to  Nelson  McStea, 
$35,000;  to  Jesse  Value,  $10,000.  Several  charitable  institutions 
received  $5,000  each.  The  only  legal  question  in  the  mind  of  the 
judge  was  whether  the  legatee,  Oliver  Bierne,  could  receive  the 
whole  estate,  or  whether  he  was  limited  to  the  amount  of  property 
which  was  possessed  by  Mr.  Burnside  at  the  time  the  will  was 
made.  Some  of  the  legacies  had  lapsed  by  the  death  of  the  parties, 
and  thus  over  $6,000,000 — for  the  estate  was  proved  to  be  worth 
$8,000,000— was  in  a  fair  way  of  passing  into  the  hands  of  persons 
unknown  to  the  testator  or  of  being  appropriated  by  the  State, 
because  no  will  of  recent  date  could  be  found. 


JOHN   A.  APPLETON. 

MR.  JOHN  ADAMS  APPLETON  was  a  member  of  the  great  publish- 
ing house  of  Daniel  Appleton  &  Co.  The  original  firm  consisted 
only  of  its  founder  and  his  son  William  H.  They  had  but  a  small 
capital,  and  the  first  work  they  published  was  a  tiny  little  book 
composed  of  scripture  texts,  one  for  each  day  in  the  year,  called 
"  Daily  Crumbs."  This  venture  cost  the  firm  seventy-five  dollars 
for  the  first  edition,  one  copy  of  which  is  preserved  in  a  silver 
casket  by  Mr.  William  H.  Appleton  as  a  relic  of  those  early  days. 
The  senior  member  retired  from  business  in  1849,  an<^  then  the 
firm  consisted  of  William  H.,  John  A.  (the  subject  of  our  sketch), 
Daniel  S.  and  S.  F.  Appleton.  Another  member,  admitted  in 
1865,  was  George  S.,  now  deceased;  he  was  the  founder  of  the 
illustrated  book  department.  But  no  matter  who  is  the  head  of 
the  firm,  or  of  how  many  members  it  consists,  the  old  name  is  re- 
tained, and  probably  always  will  be,  as  this  was  the  special  desire 
of  the  founder  of  the  house. 

From  the  small  beginning  which  we  have  described  the  Apple- 
tons  have  gone  on  steadily  increasing  their  business  and  widening 
the  circle  of  their  "  lines  of  publication.1'  The  original  Appleton 
bookstore  was  a  very  plain,  unnoticeable  place,  occupying  part  of 
the  site  on  Broadway  where  now  stands  the  massive  pile  of* 
granite,  the  Equitable  building.  Its  first  "  up-town  "  movement 
carried  the  store  to  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Leonard  street, 
now  occupied  by  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company,  the  upper 
portion  of  the  building  being  then  leased  by  the  "  Society  Library." 
Here  the  Appletons  remained  till  1850.  After  vacating  that 
home,  they  settled,  as  was  thought  permanently,  some  blocks 
higher  up  Broadway,  between  Howard  and  Grand  streets.  Some 

(429) 


430  JOHN     A.    APPLETON. 

three  years  ago  they  abandoned  the  retail  trade  and  built  an  im- 
mense structure  of  iron  and  brick  on  Bond  street,  near  Broadway, 
seven  stories  in  height,  filling  a  lot  seventy-six  feet  front  by  one 
hundred  in  depth.  They  occupy  the  whole  of  this  with  their  whole- 
sale trade.  The  acorn  has  become  a  towering  oak,  majestic  in 
height,  with  its  branches  reaching  in  all  directions.  We  may  truly 
say  that  there  is  no  department  of  literature  of  any  importance 
which  is  not  included  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Appletons.  One  of 
its  great  works,  which  every  student  appreciates,  is  the  American 
Cyclopedia,  which  is  a  heavier  investment  than  any  other  firm  has 
put  in  one  set  of  publications.  Religious  books,  scientific,  school 
books,  novels,  art  publications,  have  all  been  as  well  or  better  pre- 
sented through  this  firm  than  any  other  in  the  city.  Yet,  experi- 
enced as  they  are  as  presumed  judges  of  public  taste,  it  is  a  curious 
fact  that  they  seriously  debated  among  themselves  whether  "Lo- 
thair"  would  sell!  and  finally,  after  discussing  whether  they  should 
print  an  edition  of  one  or  two  thousand,  and  deciding  on  the 
latter  number,  they  were  astounded  to  find  orders  come  pouring 
in,  before  even  a  single  copy  was  ready,  to  the  amount  of  eighty 
thousand !  Another  instance  was  their  rejection  of  Miss  Muhl- 
bach's  historical  novels,  which  had  also  been  refused  by  all  the 
leading  publishers  of  New  York  ;  but  it  so  happened  that  a  junior 
member  of  the  firm  travelling  in  Georgia  bought  an  ill-looking 
book,  printed,  upon  straw  paper,  thinking  this  a  curiosity.  Turning 
over  its  pages,  he  became  interested  in  the  story,  and  brought  it 
home  to  urge  the  firm  to  reprint  it — it  was  Miss  Muhlbach's 
"  Court  of  Joseph  II."  But  perhaps  from  no  issue  of  this  house 
has  the  general  public  derived  more  advantage  than  from  that 
valuable  serial,  the  "  Popular  Science  Monthly,"  which  has  kept  in 
the  advance  rank  with  the  best  thinkers  of  the  times,  and,  being 
in  the  periodical  form,  is  read  by  thousands  who  rarely  ever  buy  a 
bound  book.  The  Appletons'  printing  establishment  and  bindery- 
is  in  Kent  avenue,  Brooklyn.  The  press-room  is  supplied  with 
twenty-one  Adams  presses ;  the  bindery  alone  is  two  hundred  and 


JOHN     A.    APPLETON.  43! 

fifty  feet  long  and  five  stories  high.    The  total  number  of  employes 
in  this  mammoth  building  is  about  six  hundred. 

Mr.  John  A.  Appleton  has  been  a  member  of  this  great  firm 
since  1849,  and  was  a  son  of  the  founder.  The  family  originated 
in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  but  removed  to  New  York  in  1825, 
when  John  A.  was  about  ten  years  of  age ;  after  his  admission  to 
the  firm  his  life  was  so  identified  with  it  that,  beyond  its  interests, 
he  had  but  one  other  subject  that  divided  his  attention  from  his 
home  life.  He  was  a  devoted  Christian,  and  the  church  with 
which  he  was  connected  at  Clifton,  Staten  Island,  where  he  had 
lived  for  many  years,  was  the  object  of  never-ceasing  solicitude 
with  him.  He  was  a  very  quiet,  somewhat  reticent  man,  dignified 
in  manner,  but  very  kind-hearted  and  charitable,  but  usually  took 
effectual  means  to  prevent  his  gifts  being  spoken  of  even  among 
his  friends.  To  him,  perhaps,  more  than  other  members  of  the 
firm,  except  George  S.,  are  the  employes  of  the  great  factory  in 
Brooklyn  indebted  for  many  benefits  and  privileges  not  often  pro- 
vided for  employes  by  the  capitalists  who  profit  by  their  labor.  In 
this  establishment  there  is  a  restaurant  in  the  building,  where  meals 
are  furnished  to  the  workpeople,  both  men  and  women,  at  the  bare 
cosi.  There  is  an  excellent  circulating  library  for  their  use,  while 
in  the  "Appleton  Mission,"  a  neat  structure  near  the  factory,  re- 
ligious instruction  and  services  are  offered  to  all  who  choose  to 
avail  themselves  of  it  free  of  charge ;  two  "  benefit  associations  " 
have  also  been  formed  among  the  people.  In  this  way  probably 
more  good  has  been  effected  than  follows  in  many  cases  from 
large  donations  to  organized  societies.  No  one  has  ever  heard  of 
the  Appleton  hands  going  on  a  "  strike."  Mr.  John  A.  Appleton 
was  a  member  of  the  firm  for  thirty-two  years,  and  his  death,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-five,  on  July  i3th,  1881,  was  the  occasion  of  un- 
numbered eulogistic  notices  wherever  the  name  of  Appleton  was 
known ;  and  where  is  it  not  known  ?  At  a  meeting  of  the  pub- 
lishers and  book-trade,  held  in  New  York  immediately  upon  the 
news  of  his  decease,  and  which  was  attended  by  all  the  leading 


43 2  JOHN     A.    APPLETON. 

men  in  the  business  who  were  then  in  the  city,  the  following  was 
one  of  the  resolutions  passed,  which  expressed  the  sense  of  the 
meeting:  "Not  only  had  Mr.  Appleton  eminent  business  qualities 
but  he  was  alike  known  for  his  unswerving  integrity  and  fidelity  to 
every  trust.  He  was,  in  all  his  relations,  faithful,  patient,  conscien- 
tious and  true.  Though  undemonstrative,  he  was  full  of  kindly 
feelings,  and  always  considerate  of  others.  He  was  honored  by 
his  associates  and  employes,  who,  in  their  constant  contact  with 
him,  knew  the  warmth  of  his  heart,  the  generous  impulses  of  his 
nature,  and  the  uprightness  and  wisdom  which  characterized  his 
daily  Christian  life."  Daniel  Appleton  &  Co.  are  among  the  few 
very  wealthy  book-publishers  in  the  United  States. 


GEORGE   I.   SENEY. 

AMONG  the  millionaires  of  New  York  and  vicinity,  Mr.  George 
I.  Seney  has  recently  "achieved  greatness"  by  the  almost  unique 
rapidity  with  which  he  has,  during  the  last  semi-decade,  poured 
forth  his  munificent  gifts  in  the  shape  of  donations  to  institutions 
of  learning,  for  the  interests  of  art,  and  to  objects  of  charity.  Un- 
like many  of  the  successful  men  of  this  country,  who  have  arisen 
from  poverty  by  their  own  exertions,  or  who  have  left  the  farm  to 
try  their  fortunes  in  the  metropolis,  arriving  here  without  means 
and  without  friends,  George  I.  Seney  had  a  fair  start  in  life,  and 
came  not  only  of  a  respectable,  but  of  a  somewhat  distinguished 
family.  Among  his  ancestors  and  connections  there  were  several 
known  to  fame  in  the  early  history  of  the  United  States.  The 
Seneys  originally  came  from  France  and  settled  in  Queen  Anne 
county,  Maryland.  One  branch  of  the  family  still  lives  there. 
Seney  is  a  word  of  locality  in  southern  France,  being  the  name  of 
a  mountain  and  pass  into  Italy. 

Mr.  Seney's  great-grandfather  was  Commodore  James  Nichol- 
son, the  first  naval  officer  honored  with  that  title  in  this  country.' 
His  grandfather  was  a  member  of  both  the  Continental  and  Fed- 
eral Congress,  representing  the  State  of  Maryland.  Of  his  female 
relatives  one  was  the  wife  of  Colonel  William  Few,  United  States 
Senator  from  Georgia;  another  was  the  wife  of  Judge  Mont- 
gomery, of  Maryland,  and  a  third  was  a  wife  of  Albert  Gallatin, 
the  distinguished  scholar,  statesman  and  financier.  His  father 
was  an  able  and  respected  clergyman  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  a  resident  of  New  York,  and  pastor  of  the  Mulberry 
Street  Church,  at  that  time  holding  a  leading  position  in  the  de- 
nomination. When  the  "  uptown  movement"  began  among  the 
28  (433) 


434  GEORGE     I.     SENEY. 

churches,  it  was  mainly  from  this  body  that  the  fashionable  Fourth 
Avenue  Methodist  Church  was  formed,  taking  the  name  of  "  St. 
Paul's."  Thus  we  see  that  the  early  connections  and  associations 
of  the  youthful  Seney  were  among  persons  of  standing  in  society, 
and  its  peculiar  nature  accounts  for  his  predilection  for  institutions 
of  the  Methodist  sect.  This  tendency  was  still  further  confirmed 
by  his  education  at  the  Wesleyan  University,  at  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut, where  he  spent  several  years,  but  completing  his  studies 
at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  graduating  in  1847, 
about  the  time  of  his  majority. 

He  appears  to  have  had  no  misgivings  or  doubts  as  to  what  his 
future  course  was  to  be.  He  entered  at  once,  in  a  subordinate 
position,  the  Atlantic  Bank  in  Brooklyn ;  but  Brooklyn  was  not 
then  the  great  city  it  has  since  become,  and  Mr.  Seney  wanted  to 
get  nearer  to  the  great  central  heart-beat  of  commerce  in  the 
metropolis,  and  soon  procured  an  engagement  in  the  Gallatin 
National  Bank,  but  in  neither  of  these  places  had  he  seen  any 
prospect  of  rapid  promotion,  and  he  did  not  mean  always  to  be  a 
clerk.  We  next  find  him  in  the  Bank  of  North  America,  and  still 
again  changing  to  where  the  possibilities  looked  brighter,  and 
where,  in  fact,  he  soon  received  the  position  of  paying-teller, 
namely,  in  the  Metropolitan  Bank ;  from  this  he  soon  rose  to 
cashier,  and  has  now  been  for  several  years  its  president. 

But  this  gradual  rise  by  no  means  satisfied  the  desires,  or  filled 
up  the  business  capacity  of  Mr.  Seney.  Like  so  many  of  our 
greatest  financiers,  he  had  been  gradually  acquiring  experience  in 
the  manipulation  of  railroad  stocks ;  and  from  the  success  of  his 
operations  in  these,  he  soon  became  largely  interested  in  several 
roads,  nominally  as  a  director,  but  in  several  with  a  preponder- 
ating influence,  which  practically  gave  him  the  control  of  the 
management. 

A  characteristic  mode  of  operation  with  Mr.  Seney  has  been  to 
ally  himself  with  two  or  three,  or  more,  responsible  men,  such  as 
Alexander  M.  White,  John  T.  Martin,  Nelson  Robinson,  etc. ;  and 


GEORGE     I.    SENEY.  435 

out  of  small,  weak  western  roads  build  larger,  new  and  important 
lines ;  first  by  consolidation,  and  then  by  extension.  One  of  the 
first  of  these  operations  in  which  he  was  engaged  was  the  im- 
provement of  the  Peoria,  Decatur  &  Hannibal.  Peoria,  as  is  well 
jknown,  is  one  of  the  most  important  towns  of  the  West — consid- 
•ered  as  a  railroad  centre.  It  is  also  the  centre  of  the  western 
whiskey  distillery  interest,  which  increases  its  importance  as  fur- 
nishing freight  to  the  Peoria,  Decatur  &  Hannibal  Railroad,  which 
is  now  in  a  very  flourishing  condition,  and  pays  a  dividend  on  its 
income  bonds,  as  well  as  its  regular  debt.  The  terminus  of  this 
road  was  formerly  at  Mattoon,  but  since  Mr.  Seney  took  hold  of 
the  stock  it  has  been  extended  to  Evansville,  on  the  Ohio.  The 
Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railroad  was  organized  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances, this  being  made  up  out  of  a  combination  of  several 
small  local  roads,  dexterously  welded  together  under  Mr.  Seney's 
influence  into  a  very  important  line.  The  Seney  system  of  rail- 
roads, as  it  is  called  in  the  South,  begins  at  Bristol,  on  the  border 
of  Tennessee  and  Virginia,  and  extends  through  Chattanooga  to 
Rome,  Georgia,  thence  to  Selma,  Alabama,  and  on  to  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  This  system  covers  the  Memphis  &  Charleston  Rail- 
road, and  from  Rome,  Georgia,  it  extends  to  Brunswick  on  the 
coast,  and  its  connections  reach  from  Norfolk  and  from  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  to  the  lower  Mississippi  and  the  lower  Atlantic. 
Mr.  Seney's  largest  operation  of  this  nature,  however,  as  regards 
extent  and  business,  and  we  may  add  profit,  has  been  the  enlarge- 
ment and  improvement  of  the  Ohio  Central.  A  portion  of  this 
had  been  in  operation  several  years  before  Mr.  Seney  became 
connected  with  it.  When  he  was  placed  on  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors everything  was  changed — he  may  be  truly  said  to  have  re- 
created it.  The  improvements  he  planned  and  the  extensions 
carried  but  now  brings  the  Ohio  Central  Railroad  the  entire  length 
of  the  State,  from  north  to  south,  dividing  it  in  nearly  equi-distant 
portions  east  and  west.  Commencing  at  Toledo,  on  the  western 
shore  of  Lake  Erie,  the  road  runs  through  a  rich  farming  and 


436  GEORGE     I.     SENEV. 

valuable  coal-mining  country,  passing  through  Columbus,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  State,  and  thence  southerly  to  Point  Pleasant,  on  the 
Ohio,  crossing  that  river  over  a  magnificent  bridge,  and  making 
its  present  terminus  at  Charleston,  West  Virginia.  One  of  his 
latest  and  most  successful  operations  was  his  sale  of  the  New  York, 
Chicago  &  St.  Louis  Railroad,  commonly  known  as  the  "  Nickle- 
plate."  He  got  rid  of  this  in  good  time,  harvesting  abundant 
gains.  Since  it  has  passed  into  other  hands  it  is  quoted  at  merely 
nominal  prices  at  the  Stock  Exchange.  Mr.  Seney  seems  to  have 
a  prophetic  instinct  of  when  to  buy  and  when  to  sell,  and  he  rarely, 
if  ever,  makes  a  mistake. 

Unlike  some  others  of  our  millionaires,  Mr.  Seney  has  never  let 
all  his  thoughts  become  absorbed  in  money-making.  A  care  for 
religion,  art,  education  and  the  alleviation  of  human  misery  has 
been  his  pastime  and  recreation.  He  has  gathered  in  his  home 
one  of  the  choicest  collections  of  paintings  which  adorn  any  pri- 
vate gallery,  and  these  he  has  freely  lent  for  public  exhibition  to 
aid  in  raising  funds  for  charitable  work.  During  the  winter  of 
1883  some  sixty  of  his  choicest  pictures  were  loaned  to  the  Society 
of  Sheltering  Arms  Nursery  to  aid  the  bazaar,  held  for  its  benefit 
in  the  Brooklyn  Art  Association  Many  of  these  were  by  foreign 
artists  and  of  great  value ;  but  native  talent  had  not  been  over- 
looked, and  in  the  collection  were  many  specimens  from  New 
York  and  Brooklyn  studios. 

Of  the  large  donations  of  money  made  by  Mr.  Seney  to  various 
objects,  it  is  not  easy  to  specify  the  most  important,  since  all  the 
beneficiaries  had  good  claims  to  recognition.  Among  the  first 
was  his  princely  gift  to  his  Alma  Mater,  the  Wesleyan  University, 
at  Midclletown,  Connecticut,  which  has  amounted  in  the  aggregate 
to  over  half  a  million  dollars.  The  best  feature  of  this  donation 
was  his  arrangement  for  the  founding  of  thirty-six  scholarships,  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  gifted  but  impecunious  students  ;  the  aid 
furnished  to  each  adjudged  worthy  (after  a  competitive  examina- 
tion) varies  from  $100  to  $250,  according  to  the  proficiency  of  the 


GEORGE     I.    SENEY.  437 

student,  so  that  all  are  stimulated  to  do  their  best,  and  the  reward 
coming  in  the  shape  of  a  prize  for  merit,  does  not  injure  the  self- 
respect,  or  humiliate  the  young  man  who  accepts  it. 

Several  literary  institutions  in  the  State  of  Georgia  have  shared 
in  the  munificence  of  Mr.  Seney.  One  of  the  first  of  these  was 
the  "  Lucy  Cobb  Institute."  This  gift  was  drawn  forth  by  an 
appeal  from  a  .graduate,  Miss  Storal,  of  Athens,  Georgia.  The 
precise  object  of  the  application  was  for  funds  to  build  a  chapel  for 
the  school.  The  sum  required  was  $9,000.  Mr.  Seney,  in  reply, 
offered  to  give  $5,000  if  the  citizens  would  raise  $4,000..  The 
energy  of  Miss  Storal  secured  the  whole,  and  the  structure  is  to  be 
called  the  Seney-Storal  Chapel. 

To  a  Methodist  College  in  Georgia  he  sent  $20,000,  and  to  the 
Wesleyan  Female  College,  at  Macon,  Georgia,  he  has  given  in 
various  sums  a  total  of  $100,000.  A  smaller  gift,  but  absolutely 
unique  in  its  object,  was  that  of  $1,000  to  the  general  building 
fund  of  the  "  People's  Church,  of  Boston,"  with  this  odd  sugges- 
tion:  that  "if  any  special  use  is  to  be  made  of  the  money,  it  be 
spent  in  furnishing  comfortable  and  cushioned  seats  for  the  colored 
friends,  in  the  best  part  of  the  church."  Whether  this  hint  was 
given  out  of  pure  love  for  the  "colored  friends,"  or  rather  as  a 
sarcasm  on  the  general  usage  of  church  trustees  in  the  enlightened 
city  of  Boston,  we  know  not. 

To  the  Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  of  Brooklyn,  Mr.  Seney  has  do- 
nated the  sum  of  $25,000,  and  to  the  Industrial  School  for  Home- 
less Children,  in  the  same  city,  an  equal  sum. 

The  Long  Island  Historical  Society  has  received  a  large  share 
of  Mr.  Seney's  personal  interest,  as  well  as  money  gifts,  and  books 
of  almost  priceless  value.  At  various  times  sums  have  been  given, 
which  amount  to  over  $100,000.  Some  of  this  has  been  for  gen- 
eral purposes,  and  other  sums  for  special  objects,  such  as  rebind- 
ing  valuable  works,  etc.  He  has  recently  added  two  gifts  of 
peculiar  interest  to  litterateurs  and  historical  students.  One  of 
these  is  the  great  French  work  of  Baron  Taylor,  on  the  "Archi- 


438  GEORGE     I.    SENEY. 

tecture  and  Antiquities  of  France,"  in  twenty-seven  imperial  folio 
volumes,  exceedingly  rare,  and  containing  a  large  number  (nearly 
2,000)  of  excellent  lithographic  plates.  Accompanying  this  was  a 
collection  of  famous  etchings  and  engravings,  in  forty-seven  folio 
volumes ;  they  are  known  as  the  "  Cabinet  du  Roi,"  having  for- 
merly belonged  to  Louis  Phillippe.  These  are  great  rarities,  and 
highly  valued  by  the  society. 

In  the  spring  of  1882  Mr.  Seney  offered  to  give  to  the  Brook- 
lyn Library  the  sum  of  $60,000,  on  condition  that  the  trustees 
should  raise  $100,000  by  the  ist  of  June.  This  occurring  at  a 
time  of  the  year  when  many  of  the  wealthiest  people  were  away,  it 
was  impossible  in  that  limited  time  to  raise  the  whole  amount ; 
$75,000  was  contributed  by  different  gentlemen,  but  as  the  sum 
fell  short  of  that  indicated  by  Mr.  Seney,  his  offer  lapsed,  and  the 
library  has  not  received  any  new  offer  from  him. 

Perhaps  what  Mr.  Seney  would  consider  his  crowning  work  is 
the  founding  of  the  "  Methodist  General  Hospital,"  in  the  city  of 
his  residence,  Brooklyn.  At  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone,  in 
September,  1882,  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley  stated  that  this  was 
the  "  first  hospital  in  the  history  of  the  Methodist  church." 

When  the  Seney  Hospital  is  completed,  it  will  not  be  surpassed 
by  any  other  structure  of  the  kind  in  the  country,  except,  perhaps, 
the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital,  of  Baltimore.  The  former  will  cost  a 
million  dollars,  the  latter  about  two  millions ;  the  former  will  have 
nine  separate  and  distinct  buildings,  the  latter  will  have  twenty. 

The  administration  building  will  front  on  Sixth  street,  and  will 
be  155  feet  6  inches  in  length,  and  92  feet  in  depth,  exclusive  of 
the  tower,  which  will  project  19  feet.  The  height  to  the  top  of  the 
cornices  will  be  61  feet  8  inches,  and  the  height  to  the  top  of  the 
tower  126  feet.  The  building  will  be  of  brick,  and  faced  on  all 
sides  with  Trenton  pressed  bricks,  laid  with  black  joints,  and 
trimmed  with  New  Jersey  freestone.  It  will  be  fireproof,  the  floor- 
beams,  partitions,  and  stairs  being  of  iron,  and  the  roofs  of  iron, 
asbestos,  and  slate.  No  wood  will  be  used  on  the  exterior,  all 


GEORGE     I.    SENEY.  439 

cornices  and  dormer  windows  being  of  stone.  The  windows  and 
porches  will  be  ornamented  with  handsomely  carved  capitals  in 
different  designs,  those  for  the  mullion  windows  being  supported 
by  Wyoming  Valley  bluestone  shafts.  The  basement  story  will 
be  ten  feet  high,  and  will  contain  the  servants'  parlor  and  sewing- 
room,  examination  and  waiting-rooms,  and  toilet  and  store-rooms. 
There  will  be  an  elevator  from  this  story  to  the  third.  The  first 
story  will  be  eighteen  feet  high,  and  will  contain  the  trustees'  and 
general  reception-rooms,  and  the  officers'  and  nurses'  dining- 
rooms,  superintendent's  and  clerks'  offices,  toilet-room,  and  the 
chapel.  This  will  be  octagonal  in  plan,  with  a  ceiling  twenty-two 
feet  high,  and  will  seat  1 60  persons.  It  will  not  be  for  the  ex- 
clusive use  of  the  patients,  but  it  is  to  be  so  arranged  that  the 
public  can  attend  the  services  without  entering  the  hospital 
proper.  The  principal  entrance  to  the  building  is  through  a  ves- 
tibule 1 7  feet  6  inches  wide,  the  walls  of  which  will  be  faced  with 
enamelled  bricks  in  fancy  designs. 

It  is  proposed  to  make  this  a  model  hospital  in  every  respect — 
the  most  progressive  ideas  in  regard  to  ventilation,  and  the  isola- 
tion of  the  separate  wards,  the  operating  amphitheatre,  and  all 
other  departments,  are  to  be  adjusted  with  such  strict  attention  to 
the  latest  ascertained  facts  of  science,  that  the  upholders  of  the 
"germ  theory"  will  here,  if  anywhere,  find  their  sine  qua  non  in 
hospital  treatment.  What  it  will  cost  is  yet  unknown ;  probably 
not  less  than  $1,000,000 — which  brings  the  total  amount  of  his 
benefactions  to  the  munificent  sum  of  $1,676,000. 

Mr.  Seney  has  endowed  an  institution  at  Macon,  and  another  at 
Oxford,  Georgia.  His  benefactions  have  been  various  and  muni- 
ficent ;  that  a  member  of  his  family,  a  young  daughter,  jocularly 
remarked  that  she  wished  she  was  a  public  institution. 

Brooklyn  is  proud  of  this  large-hearted  citizen,  who  has  done 
so  much  to  add  to  its  fame,  and  who  is  still  young  enough  to  mul- 
tiply his  good  deeds,  and  make  glad  the  hearts  of  his  fellow- 
beings. 


MARSHALL  JEWELL. 

MARSHALL  JEWELL,  ex-Governor  of  Connecticut,  ex-Minister  to 
Russia,  ex- Postmaster-General,  and  Chairman  in  1880  of  the  Re- 
publican National  Committee,  was  a  native  of  Winchester,  New 
Hampshire,  and  was  born  on  the  24th  of  October,  1825.  The 
family  stock  from  which  Mr.  Jewell  sprang  were  settled  in  Boston 
as  early  as  1639,  where  his  American  ancestor  was  Mr.  Thomas 
Jewell,  whose  son  Joseph  was  extensively  known  in  those  early 
times  as  a  resident  of  Charlestown,  and  the  owner  of  the  ferry 
between  that  place  and  Boston.  About  1690  the  latter  removed 
to  Stow,  Vermont,  and  the  family  of  Jewells  finally  scattered-  to 
various  parts  of  the  country,  some  remaining  in  New  England, 
some  diverging  to  New  York,  and  others  seeking  their  fortunes 
farther  west.  Mr.  Pliny  Jewell,  the  father  of  Marshall,  was  in 
business  as  a  tanner  for  many  years  in  New  Hampshire  ;  tanning 
had  been  the  hereditary  business  of  the  Jewells  for  five  generations 
— so,  if  Shakespeare's  assertion  on  the  incorruptibility  of  tanners 
hath  any  ground  in  science,  the  Jewell  family  are  among  the  best 
preserved  of  mortals. 

Young  Marshall  received  as  much  education  as  village  boys 
generally  gather  from  a  few  seasons'  attendance  at  the  common 
school,  and  a  term  or  two  at  the  academy ;  but  he  had  in  his  youth 
an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  to  such,  ways  are  opened 
which  others  never  find  to  supplement  school  deficiencies.  Very 
early  he  was  taken  into  the  tan-yard,  working  at  the  business  until 
he  was  eighteen,  and  securing  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  all 
the  processes  then  known  in  the  trade,  little  thinking  that  this 
sort  of  information  would  be  turned  to  good  account  in  a  foreign 
land  in  the  public  service  of  his  country  at  a  later  day.  When 
(440)  ' 


MARSHALL    JEWELL.  441 

Marshall  was  about  twenty  years  of  age  his  father  removed  to 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  but  the  lad  had  already  abandoned  the 
idea  of  following  that  trade  as  his  life  business,  and  he  struck  out 
in  an  entirely  new  direction.  His  mind  naturally  turned  to  sub- 
jects of  a  scientific  nature,  and  among  the  first  who  studied  tele- 
graphy with  the  idea  of  making  it  his  permanent  profession  was 
young  Jewell.  The  first  situation  which  he  obtained  as  a  telegraph 
operator  was  in  Rochester,  New  York;  subsequently  he  was  put 
in  charge  of  an  office  at  Akron,  Ohio ;  then  we  find  him  at  Col- 
umbia, Tennessee,  and  from  thence  he  went  to  Jackson,  Missis- 
sippi. All  these  changes  of  position  were  made  before  he  was 
twenty-three.  In  1848  he  superintended  the  construction  of  tele- 
graph lines  between  New  Orleans  and  Louisville,  Kentucky.  The 
next  year  he  received  the  appointment  of  General  Superintendent 
of  the  New  York  and  Boston  Telegraph  Line. 

While,  however,  young  Marshall  had  thus  been  rising  by  suc- 
cessive steps  from  the  desk  of  the  operator  to  the  head  of  an  im- 
portant line,  his  father's  business  had  so  greatly  prospered  that  he 
needed  the  help  of  all  his  sons,  and  Marshall  was  persuaded  to 
abandon  telegraphy  and  return  to  the  leather  business — but  in  a 
different  branch,  and  in  a  far  different  position  from  that  which  he 
had  left.  This  new  enterprise  was  the  manufacture  of  leather 
belting,  into  which  he  entered  as  a  partner,  the  firm  being  P.  Jewell 
&  Son.  The  period  was  propitious  and  the  business  immensely 
profitable;  about  $100,000  was  said  to  have  been  made,  clear  of 
all  expenses,  the  first  year.-  Afterwards  Marshall's  brothers  were 
taken  into  the  concern,  and  the  firm  of  P.  Jewell  &  Sons  became 
one  of  the  largest  manufacturing  interests  in  the  State,  and  sent 
its  goods  all  over  the  country  as  well  as  to  Europe;  Marshall 
travelled  extensively  in  France,  Belgium,  Austria  and  Germany 
between  the  years  1852  and  1857;  during  this  time  the  business 
was  greatly  extended,  and  the  travelling  partner  thus  had  an  op- 
portunity of  becoming  acquainted  with  nearly  every  country  in 
Europe.  After  the  death  of  lib  father  (1869)  he  became  the  head 


442  MARSHALL    JEWELL. 

of  the  firm,  which  eventually  included  all  the  Jewell  brothers — 
Pliny,  Lyman  B.  and  Charles  A. 

In  1865-67  Mr.  Jewell  again  visited  Europe  in  the  interests  of 
the  firm,  which  had  by  this  time  become  very  extensive,  yielding 
enormous  profits.  On  this  occasion  his  travels  were  not  limited 
to  the  European  continent ;  he  visited  Egypt,  making  the  ascent 
of  the  Nile,  and  then  travelled  through  Palestine ;  on  his  return 
taking  in  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867,  attending  the  Convention 
of  Leather  Manufacturers,  who  met  there  to  discuss  the  interests 
of  the  leather  business  in  its  various  branches. 

Like  every  intelligent  person,  Marshall  Jewell  had  always  taken 
an  interest  in  politics,  but  he  was  forty-three  years  of  age,  and  a 
wealthy  man,  before  he  entered  actively  into  those  of  his  own 
State ;  when  he  did,  he  made  a  splendid  debut,  running  for 
governor  on  the  Republican  ticket,  defeating  that  veteran  politi- 
cian, James  E.  English.  From  this  time  forward,  until  within  a 
short  period  of  his  death,  the  name  of  Marshall  Jewell  was  rarely 
absent  from  any  important.  State  or  National  canvass.  He  was  re- 
elected  in  1871  and  in  1872  to  fill  the  gubernatorial  office.  In  1873 
another  honor  awaited  him.  He  was  appointed  by  President  Grant 
(also  an  ex-tanner)  to  represent  the  United  States  at  St.  Peters- 
burg. Undoubtedly  Marshall  Jewell  was  better  fitted  for  this 
office  than  many  aspirants  for  that  position  would  have  been ;  his 
extensive  travels  in  Europe  had  made  him  familiar  with  European 
modes  of  thought;  and,  if  he  did  not  understand  the  language  of 
the  Muscovites,  he  at  least  was  safe  from  that  exhibition  of  naivete 
which  has  distinguished  some  of  our  crude  diplomats  abroad. 
While  he  was  in  Russia,  Mr.  Jewell  was  enabled  to  perform  at 
least  two  very  distinct  services  for  the  commerce  of  his  own 
country.  He  had  discovered,  in  the  Russian  markets  (for  much 
of  the  commerce  of  that  country  in  all  sorts  of  goods  is  conducted 
in  open  markets),  that  many  kinds  of  inferior  goods  were  fraudu- 
lently sold  under  the  name  of  "American  axes,"  "American  sewing- 
machines,"  etc.,  thus  putting  discredit  upon  the  real  manufactures 
of  the  United  States. 


MARSHALL    JEWELL.  443 

Mr.  Jewell  appealed  to  the  Imperial  government,  represented 
the  injury  that  was  thus  done  to  our  merchants  and  manufacturers, 
and  finally  succeeded  in  negotiating  a  specific  treaty,  securing  to 
Americans  perfect  protection  for  their  respective  trade-marks. 

Mr.  Jewell  was  a  person  of  very  accurate  observation  ;  there 
was  little  to  be  seen  which  escaped  his  penetrating  eye,  and  it 
may  well  be  supposed  that  he  was  ever  wide  awake  to  everything 
affecting  the  leather  interest.  Every  dealer  knows  what  a  fancy 
the  aristocratic  purchaser  here  and  elsewhere  has  for  that  subtle 
perfume  which  pervades  the  true  Russian  leather.  What  caused 
this  peculiar  aroma  ?  Mr.  Jewell  determined  to  find  out.  The 
process  of  tanning  in  Russia  to  a  transient  observer  was  ap- 
parently the  same  as  with  us,  but,  by  close  observation,  the 
American  minister  discerned  that  a  small  amount  of  birch-bark  tar 
was  used  in  the  Russian  tanneries.  Procuring  some  materials  to 
be  experimented  with,  he  soon  solved  the  mystery  of  the  peculiar 
scent.  As  he  was  still  a  member  of  the  manufacturing  firm  in 
Hartford,  a  less  generous  man  would  have  kept  this  secret  for  his 
own  profit.  Not  so  Marshall  Jewell ;  he  immediately  bought  some 
of  the  tar  and  sent  it  home,  with  full  explanations  for  its  use,  and 
soon  every  paper  in  the  land  was  made  aware  that  henceforth 
"Russian  leather"  could  be  as  perfectly  manufactured  .in  the 
United  States  as  in  Moscow  or  Novgorod.  Had  he  remained  in 
St.  Petersburg  we  should  probably  have  had  other  benefits  to 
record  which  his  zeal  would  have  won  for  his  country,  but  in  1874 
President  Grant  nominated  him  for  a  cabinet  position,  as  successor 
of  A.  J.  Creswell,  Postmaster-General.  On  receiving  the  news 
of  this  appointment,  Mr.  Jewell  designed  his  foreign  mission  and  re- 
turned home.  In  this  new  department  he  displayed  great  energy, 
and  set  himself  at  once  to  remedy  some  of  the  corrupt  practices 
which  had  crept  into  the  post-office  management;  just  at  this 
time  some  very  notorious  "  straw  bids  "  had  been  made  for  valua- 
ble contracts  in  the  southwest,  particularly  from  Texas  and  Ala- 
bama. He  made  every  effort  to  suppress  these  frauds,  and  in 


444  MARSHALL    JEWELL. 

great  measure  succeeded,  but  not  without  awakening  the  anger  of 
the  politicians  interested ;  and  when  his  own  interests  were  at 
stake  under  the  next  administration  the  senators  from  these  States 
were  found  bitterly  opposing  him. 

It  was  Marshall  Jewell  who  established  the  fast  mail  service  be- 
tween New  York  and  Chicago.  On  his  return  from  Russia  he 
had  stopped  at  Berlin,  Paris  and  London  to  examine  the  postal 
systems  of  those  countries,  being  always  ready  to  adopt  any  real 
improvements -from  any  source  whatever;  and  it  is  to  him  that  the 
United  States  and  Canada  owe  the  common  "postal  system  which 
now  exists  between  them.  His  reforms,  of  course,  excited  the  in- 
tense ill-will  of  all  the  drones  and  schemers  who  infested  the  de- 
partment, and  his  declaration,  that  he  intended  to  conduct  it  on 
business  principles,  created  something  like  a  panic.  "  Never 
before,"  he  remarked,  "  was  I  at  the  head  of  an  institution  which 
did  not  pay  its  own  expenses."  During  a  speech  which  he  made 
at  the  annual  dinner  of  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  in 
May,  1875,  he  said :  "  I  say  for  myself,  as  a  merchant  now  tempo- 
rarily in  politics,  and  on  the  strength  of  a  merchant's  word,  I 
pledge  to  you  that,  in  my  feeble  attempt  I  have  made  to  administer 
the  department  of  the  government  over  which  I  preside,  I  have 
administered  it  as  I  would  my  private  affairs ;  I  have  administered 
it  as  a  merchant  always  does  his  affairs — for  the  benefit  of  his 
owners,  which,  in  this  case,  are  the  people."  This  spirit  of  recti- 
tude had,  however,  no  influence  on  General  Grant's  successor.  In 
March,  1876,  Mr.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  inducted  into  the 
Presidential  chair,  and  early  in  July  Mr.  Jewell's  resignation  was 
requested,  and  promptly  rendered. 

On  his  return  to  Hartford,  Mr.  Jewell  was  welcomed  home  by  a 
public  ovation,  which  plainly  expressed  the  sentiments  of  the  peo- 
ple. Addresses  were  made  by  prominent  citizens  commending 
his  course ;  an  enormous  procession  was  organized  to  receive  him, 
artillery  was  fired,  and  all  such  demonstrations  as  a  free  people 
know  how  to  accord  to  a  faithful  public  servant.  After  this  period 


MARSHALL    JEWELL.  445 

Mr.  Jewell  held  no  political  office,  though  he  consented  to  act  as 
Chairman  of  the  Republican  Committee  during  the  political  cam- 
paign of  1879-80.  Besides  these  political  episodes,  and  his -busi- 
ness as  a  member  of  the  old  firm  in  Hartford,  Marshall  Jewell 
was  connected  with  many  other  business  enterprises.  For  some 
years  he  was  a  special  partner  in  the  dry-goods  house  of  Charles 
Root  &  Co.,  in  Detroit,  Michigan  ;  he  was  also  President  of  the 
Jewell  Pin  Company ;  and  he  was  also  interested  in  two  telephone 
companies — the  United  States  Telephone  Association,  and  the 
Southern  New  England  Telephone  Company.  He  was  a  Direc- 
tor in  the  Phoenix  Fire  Insurance  Company,  of  Hartford;  in  the 
Hartford  Bank,  and  in  several  other  companies  and  associations. 

In  politics  few  have  risen  to  such  influence  and  position  who  en- 
tered the  field  so  late  in  life  ;  and  considering  that  he  really  enjoyed 
its  excitement,  it  is  strange  that  he  had  not  appeared  earlier  in  the 
arena.  Mr.  Jewell  was  a  man  of  abounding  vitality,  stout  in  fig- 
ure and  of  only  medium  height,  but  of  very  attractive  appearance, 
one  whom  it  might  have  been  thought  could  have  lived  out  his 
threescore  years  and  ten,  as  a  plain-looking  man  was  heard  to 
remark,  as  he  stood  looking  at  the  dead  governor's  likeness  in  a 
store  on  Main  street,  Hartford,  on  the  day  of  the  funeral :  "  It 
seems  a  pity  that  a  man  like  that  shouldn't  live  longer." 

To  his  friends  his  life  seemed  far  more  important  than  to  him- 
self; during  his  last  illness  he  suddenly  turned  to  his  medical 
attendant  and  asked:  "How  long  will  it  take,  doctor?"  "How 
long  will  what  take?"  inquired  the  doctor.  "1  mean,"  said  the 
sick  man,  "how  long  does  it  take  for  a  man  to  die?"  "In  your 
condition,  Governor,"  was  the  answer,  "  it  is  a  matter  of  only  a  few 
hours."  "All  right,  doctor,"  said  he,  and  settled  back  quietly  to 
await  the  end.  His  death  occurred  on  the  loth  of  February,  1883, 
and  was  caused  by  pneumonia. 

For  many  years  he  had  occupied  a  handsome  residence  on 
Farmington  avenue, and  "the  governor's  house"  had  been  famous 
for  its  wide  and  sumptuous  hospitality,  even  before  Mr.  Jewell's 


446  MARSHALL    JEWELL. 

entrance  into  politics.  When  the  Russian  Grand  Duke  Alexis 
was  in  this  country  he  visited  Hartford  as  the  guest  of  Mr.  Jewell ; 
the  latter  pointing  out  to  the  Duke  the  site  of  his  early  work  in 
tanning  leather,  Alexis  exclaimed,  "  What !  is  that  the  way  Ameri- 
cans rise  ?  from  the  tannery  to  the  governor's  chair  ?  " 

In  politics,  as  Chairman  of  the  Republican  National  Committee, 
Mr.  Jewell  was  most  energetic  and  untiring,  and  to  his  efforts  may 
be  fairly  ascribed  a  large  portion  of  the  success  of  his  party  in 
1880 ;  nor  did  he  scruple  to  use  any  of  the  means  adopted  by  his 
confreres ;  frankly  admitting  that  he  had  been  "  distributing  cash 
through  the  States." 

Much  of  Mr.  Jewell's  success,  as  well  in  business  as  in  politics, 
was  due  to  his  temperament,  as  was  well  remarked  by  his  friend 
and  pastor,  Dr.  Parker :  "  Much  is  said  of  pluck,  nerve,  mettle, 
energy,  hardihood,  audacity,  as  the  causative  powers  in  such  a 
career  and  character.  Let  us  sum  up  all  such  qualities  in  physi- 
cal and  mental  force.  It  is  inheritance.  In  vain  you  commend  it 
to  one  who  has  no  valiant  ancestor.  Marshall  Jewell  was  ex- 
cellently created.  The  atmosphere  of  his  cradle  and  childhood 
was  pure  and  bracing.  The  virtues  of  his  father  were  only  varied 
in  his  constitution.  Some  men  think  to  thrive  by  the  failures  of 
others,  and  aim  at  solitary  successes ;  not  so  with  Marshall  Jewell, 
he  preferred  companionship  in  success.  It  is  much  to  say  of  a 
man  that  he  has  not  an  enemy  in  the  world.  It  is  far  more  and 
better  to  say  of  him  that  no  man  in  the  world  had  an  enemy  in 
him.  He  had  no  capacity  for  malice ;  and  even  in  the  heat  of 
politics  meeting  friends  opposed  to  him  as  partisans,  he  would 
offer  his  hand  and.  say,  'Whatever  comes  of  this  contest  let  you 
and  I  remain  good  friends.'  " 

The  precise  amount  of  Mr.  Jewell's  fortune  has  not  been 
divulged ;  it  was  very  large. 


"LUCKY"    BALDWIN. 

MR.  E.  J.  BALDWIN,  who  long  ago  obtained  the  sobriquet  of 
"lucky,"  was  no  more  favored  of  fortune  than  that  he  had  the 
mental  constitution  and  physical  vigor  which  enabled  him  to  work 
early  and  late,  and  brains  to  see  and  seize  upon  opportunities 
which  many  others  overlooked,  either  from  lack  of  intellectual 
capacity,  or  a  deficiency  in  the  nervous  temperament.  His  wealth 
did  not  fall  on  him  from  the  skies ;  neither  did  his  first  pick  and 
shovel  strike  a  bonanza.  What  he  has  obtained  he  has  worked 
for  fully  thirty  years ;  what  he  needed  to  know,  and  was  deficient 
in,  he  learned,  and  never  left  a  subject  till  he  had  mastered  it  in 
all  its  details.  This  was  the  kind  of  "  luck  "  which  helped  him  to 
his  present  possessions.  Mr.  Baldwin  came  to  California  from 
the  enterprising  State  of  Ohio,  where  he  was  born  in  1828,  in  But- 
ler county,  on  a  farm  near  the  Great  Miami  river,  a  short  distance 
from  the  shire  town  of  Hamilton.  When  a  child  of  seven  years, 
the  family  removed  to  Indiana,  some  seventy  miles  east  of 
Chicago,  on  land  adjoining  that  of  the  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax's 
family.  Here  young  Baldwin  received  the  elements  of  a  common 
country  school  education,  and  was  then  set  .to  work  on  his  father's 
farm.  He  grew  up  strong  and  healthy,  though  not  particularly 
robust-looking ;  and  what  he  lacked  of  book  education  he  made 
up  to  some  extent  by  observation,  and  listening  to  the  politicians 
of  Hamilton,  whenever  he  could  get  an  opportunity  to  go  "  to  the 
town."  His  knowledge  of  farming  was  not  a  useless  acquisition 
either  to  the  future  millionaire,  for  much  of  it  was  afterwards 
applied  in  extensive  ranches  in  Southern  California.  He  married 
soon  after  arriving  at  his  majority,  and  set  up  for  himself  in  the 
town  of  Valparaiso,  about  forty  miles  west  of  his  late  home. 

(447) 


448  "LUCKY"   BALDWIN. 

There  he  opened  a  country  store ;  but  being  beyond  the  reach  of 
any  railroad,  he  felt  the  great  need  of  some  more  speedy  means 
of  communication  with  the  South  and  West.  He  observed  that  an 
immense  amount  of  produce  might  be  sold  or  exchanged  to  advan- 
tage, which  was  practically  wasted  for  want  of  a  market  to  dispose 
of  the  surplus.  As  he  could  not  build  a  railroad  to  facilitate  traffic 
for  want  of  funds,  he  did  what  he  could,  and  constructed  three 
canal-boats,  which  were  the  first  boats  put  upon  the  "  Illinois 
Canal" — between  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  in  1848-50.  But'with 
the  restless  fever  in  his  veins  which  seems  to  possess  so  many 
Western  people,  he  soon  pushed  beyond  Chicago,  and  settled,  or 
rather  stopped  for  a  while,  at  Racine,  Wisconsin ;  here  he  engaged 
in  the  grocery  business,  and  continued  it  with  good  success  for 
two  years ;  then  he  concluded  to  try  California.  He  travelled 
overland,  taking  with  him  a  number  of  horses  and  wagons,  a  large 
supply  of  merchandise,  and  a  number  of  passengers,  so  that  his 
time  was  by  no  means  lost  while  on  the  way — and  his  personal 
expenses  might  be  put  at  a  minimum.  He  sold  most  of  his  goods 
on  the  journey,  principally  at  Salt  Lake  City,  so  that  west  of  that 
point  he  had  no  further  encumbrance,  and  had  cleared  on  his  sales 
between  three  and  four  thousand  dollars.  Before  reaching  the 
Sierras,  he  sold  out  his  horses  and  wagons,  and  started  over  the 
mountains  with  pack  mules;  halting  for  rest  a  few  weeks  at  Placer- 
ville,  he  then  went  on  to  San  Francisco.  After  arriving  there,  he 
fatted  up  his  mules,  and  sold  them  at  a  good  profit,  "  standing  in  " 
several  thousand  dollars  ahead  of  what  he  had  when  he  com- 
menced his  journey ;  in  making  which,  while  crossing  Nevada,  he 
went  up  Gold  Canon  almost  directly  over  the  ground  in  which 
he  eventually  made  his  great  fortune;  he;  however,  laid  its  founda- 
tions in  the  purchase  of  the  Pacific  Temperance  House,  then  a 
thriving  hotel  on  Pacific  street.  He  ran  this  house  very  success- 
fully as  long  as  he  kept  it,  but  when  an  opportunity  to  sell  out  to 
advantage  occurred,  he  quickly  closed  the  bargain,  and  with  his 
increased  capital,  opened  another  hotel  in  Jackson  street,  calling 


"LUCKY"   BALDWIN.  449 

it  the  Clinton  House.  ,He  conducted  this  for  about  six  months  in 
1854,  when  he  once  more  sold  out  at  a  profit,  and  with  the  pro- 
ceeds commenced  a  new  business. 

This  new  enterprise  was  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  bricks. 
At  first  he  entered  into  partnership  with  one  of  his  passengers 
who  had  crossed  the  plains  with  him.  Mr.  Baldwin  looked  up 
business  and  took  contracts  while  the  partner  oversaw  the  manu- 
facturing department.  When  he  commenced,  Mr.  Baldwin  had 
no  knowledge  whatever  of  the  brick-making,  but  having  got  some 
insight  into  it  by  close  observation  of  the  workmen,  and  having 
also  secured  a  treatise  upon  the  subject  which  he.  faithfully  studied, 
he  soon  felt  himself  competent  to  conduct  the  business  alone. 
Having  dissolved  the  partnership,  he  made  arrangements  to 
greatly  extend  the  business.  He  procured  the  contract  from 
government  offices  in  San  Francisco  to  supply  all  the  brick  to  be 
used  in  the  construction  of  the  Fort  Point  fortifications,  on  very 
remunerative  terms :  and  to  save  freightage  he  removed  his  works 
to  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Point,  where  he  also  made  all  the  bricks 
required  by  the  government  in  its  stately  citadel  on  the  island  of 
Alcatraz ;  these  contracts  occupied  him  for  two  years,  during 
which  time  he  of  course  employed  a  large  force  of  laborers ;  he 
erected  cheap  boarding  houses,  and  boarded  the  workmen — in- 
deed there  seemed  no  way  in  which  money  could  be  made  that  he 
did  not  seize  upon  it ;  this  profit  upon  these  boarders  amounted 
to  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  month.  His  mania 
for  change  now  took  possession  of  him  again :  he  had  made  all 
the  bricks  he  wanted  to  make.  His  next  move  was  something 
entirely  different.  In  1855  there  was  a  large  sale  of  real  estate, 
known  as  the  "  Folsom  Sale,"  at  which  he  bought  largely,  includ- 
ing a  lot  on  Commercial  street  on  which  a  livery  stable  was 
located ;  he  bought  out  this  business,  which  he  carried  on  for  an 
unprecedented  length  of  time — seven  years,  adding  all  the  time  to 
his  real  estate,  in  which  most  of  his  funds  were  at  this  time 
invested.  But  tiring  of  this  at  last  he  suddenly  sold  out  the 
29 


45O  "  LUCKY  "     BALDWIN. 

livery  business,  and  started  for  Virginia  City ;  not  with  the  inten-' 
tion  of  mining,  but  to  go  into  lumbering;  taking  with  him  a  num- 
ber of  teams  and  a  large  quantity  of  lumber,  he  established  a  yard 
there  which,  like  all  of  his  projects  hitherto,  proved  a  hit.  The 
miners  needed  immense  quantities  of  lumber  to  build  their  shafts, 
and  to  buttress  up  their  tunnels,  and  all  that  was  used  in  Virginia 
City  had  to  be  brought  from  a  considerable  distance  and  at  great 
expense.  After  a  time,  indeed,  immense  shoots  were  built  from 
the  summit  of  the  timbered  hills — one.  some  three  miles  in  length — 
but  at  the  time  Mr.  Baldwin  took  his  lumber  there,  no  such  device 
was  in  operation,  and  he  could  consequently  demand  almost  any 
price  for  his  stock  of  wood.  In  this  expedition  he  naturally  became 
interested  in  the  mines ;  though  he  never  seems  to  have  had  any 
inclination  for  practical  work  in  them,  but  he  returned  from  this 
enterprise  to  San  Francisco  to  commence  his  speculations  in 
mining  stocks;  here  his  fortune  fluctuated  considerably;  stocks 
were  something  not  quite  so  tangible  and  easily  understood  as 
bricks  and  horses ;  like  others  who  ventured  on;  the  Stock  Ex- 
change he  had  his  ups  and  downs,  and  at  one  period  he  had  to 
mortgage  nearly  all  of  his  real  estate  to  keep  afloat.  But  he  per- 
severed and  his  reward  came  in  the  rich  returns  from  Crown 
Point,  Belcher,  Consolidated  Virginia,  California  and  Ophir,  in  all 
of  which  he  speculated  on  a  grand  scale.  He  had  used  his  op- 
portunity when  in  Virginia  City  to  examine  into  the  merits  of 
these  mines,  and  was  convinced  of  their  value ;  it  is  said  that  he 
tried  successively  to  induce  Mackay,  Fair  and  J.  P.  Jones  to  unite 
with  him  in  bringing  out  the  Belcher,  but  they  had  other  plans  in 
hand,  and  he  did  not  succeed  in  interesting  them  to  that  extent. 
Ever  since  that  he  has  worked  by  and  for  himself,  having  no 
partners  and  joining  no  companies. 

About  1874  he,  by  a  series  of  very  shrewd  movements,  secured 
the  control  of  over  one-half  of  the  shares  of  the  rich  Ophir  mine  ; 
this  required  the  purchase  of  fifty-five  thousand  shares.  He 
cleared  a  neat  $5,000,000  out  of  this  venture,  and  might  have 


"LUCKY         BAI.mYIX.  451 

made  much  more  had  he  chosen  to  manipulate  the  stock  as  some 
speculators  are  always  ready  to  do,  regardless  of  the  ruin  they 
bring  upon  others ;  but  Mr.  Baldwin  has  never  exercised  his  great 
financial  influence  in  creating  "'corners "  or  panics.  Some  five 
years  ago  he  obtained  a  similar  controlling  interest  in  the  "Justice 
mine."  But,  while  thus  adding  to  his  fortune,  he  was  not  idle  in 
other  directions.  In  the  spring  of  1875  ne  commenced  those 
double  buildings — namely,  the  hotel  and  theatre,  or  academy  of 
music,  known  as  "  Baldwin's  " — in  San  Francisco,  and,  although 
five  hundred  workmen  were  employed,  this  grand  structure  took 
two  years  to  complete.  It  is  located  on  the  corner  of  Market  and 
Powell  streets;  on  the  latter  it  is  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
feet  front  by  two  hundred  and  ten  feet  on  Market  street.  The 
principal  facade,  is  decorated  in  the  style  of  the  French  renaissance, 
with  a  mansard  roof,  Corinthian  columns  and  orna'te  cornices.  The 
summit  is  relieved  by  several  towers,  the  central  one  reaching  to  a 
height  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet.  It  is  as  nearly  fire- 
proof as  a  building  can  be  made ;  it  is  furnished  and  equipped, 
both  the  theatre  and  hotel,  in  the  most  complete  manner ;  no  detail 
which  could  add  to  the  comfort  of  guests  or  visitors  appears  to 
have  been  overlooked.  The  total  cost  was  nearly  $3,000,000. 

In  all  of  Mr.  Baldwin's  building  and  other  enterprises  he  has 
kept  in  view  the  interests  of  the  community  with  which  he  was 
identified,  always  patronizing  native  producers  and  manufacturers, 
as  far  as  was  practicable.  The  lumber  for  his  great  building  was 
of  home  growth;  the  furniture  and  mirrors  were  mostly  from 
the  Eastern  States ;  some  stone  and  woods  were  brought  from 
Mexico  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  but  were  made  up  by  workmen 
in  San  Francisco  ;  the  West  Coast  Furniture  Company  doing  most 
of  the  work.  Subsequently  Mr.  Baldwin  purchased  a  large  plot  of 
ground  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  public  market.  The  aesthetic 
plan  which  the  proprietor  devised  for  this  great  public  improve- 
ment deserves  all  praise.  Most  markets  are  very  disagreeable 
places  to  visit,  and  the  purchaser  is  forced  to  traverse  the  rounds 


452  "LUCKY"   BALDWIN. 

of  the  several  departments,  and  is  usually  very  glad  to  escape — 
even  with  the  loss  of  his  solid  cash ;  but  Mr.  Baldwin's  idea  was 
to  make  this  model  market  attractive.  The  ground  formerly 
known  as  the  McCrellish  property,  with  a  frontage  on  Market 
street  measuring  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  by  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  in  depth,  was  that  selected.  The  plan  in- 
cludes drive-ways,  so  that  ladies  can  leave  their  orders  without 
descending-  from  their  carriages ;  shrubs,  flowers,  fountains,  and 

t>  <•*» 

on  Saturday  evenings  music,  will,  when  completed,  charm  and 
detain  customers,  who  will  have  no  desire  to  get  away  from  the 
precinct.  If  this  is  carried  out  in  the  spirit  of  the  proprietor  it 
will  prove  one  of  the  permanent  attractions  of  the  city.  But  it  is 
not  San  Francisco  alone  which  has  been  benefited  by  the  improv- 
ing hand  of  E.  J.  Baldwin  ;  other  parts  of  the  State  have  shared 
in  the  stimulus  created  by  the  diffusion  of  his  money  and  the 
broad  views  he  has  made  practical  in  stock-raising  and  other 
pursuits. 

About  1875  Mr.  Baldwin  visited  Los  Angelos  county,  rightly 
named  the  land  of  the  angels ;  for  such  is  the  loveliness  of  the 
climate,  and  the  beautiful  nature  of  its  flora,  that  celestial  visitants 
might  well  be  entertained  there ;  in  this  "  Garden  of  California  " 
Mr.  Baldwin  bought  some  60,000  acres  of  the  choicest  land,  some 
of  which  is  divided  off  and  occupied  as  farms  ;  a  portion  is  devoted 
to  corn — some  13,000  acres,  while  what  is  called  "the  home- 
track,"  the  old  Santa  Anita  Ranch,  about  16,000  acres,  is  mainly 
devoted  to  stock-horses,  mules  and  sheep  of  the  finest  breeds — 
the  former  including  the  last  of  the  Lexingtons,  and  the  latter 
both  merino  sheep  and  Southdowns,  in  all  20,000  sheep ;  some  of 
the  rams  bought  of  Lord  Walsingham  cost  $800  apiece.  The 
milch  kine  include  Jerseys,  Alderneys,  Guernseys,  Short  Horns 
and  Durhams ;  some  of  the  latter  are  raised  for  the  market,  but 
all  are  thoroughbred.  It  takes  about  two  hundred  laborers  to 
look  after  this  ranch  and  the  stock.  Part  of  the  land  is  naturally 
irrigated,  and  part  artificially;  there  are  six  miles  of  conducting 


LUCKY        BALDWIN. 


453 


pipe  and  several  artesian  wells  on  the  place,  which  aid  in  filling  a 
number  of  artificial  lakes.  There  are  thirty  dwelling-houses  and 
other  buildings,  many  of  them  artistic  in  form,  adding  a  human  in- 
terest to  the  natural  beauties  of  the  scene ;  rustic  arbors,  bridges, 
and,  better  than  all,  a  school  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  of  the 
laboring  cottagers,  meet  the  eye ;  there  is  also  a  store  upon  the 
place,  with  a  well-selected  stock  of  goods,  which  is  frequently  re- 
newed, and  which  enables  the  workmen  and  their  families  to  sup- 
ply their  wants,  without  loss  of  time  or  expense  of  travelling  to 
the  county  town.  But  the  half  of  the  beauties  of  Anita  Ranch  re- 
main to  be  told.  The  large  and  beautiful  collection  of  trees  of 
various  kinds,  useful  and  ornamental,  is  simply  enchanting;  and 
the  floral  nurseries  are  like  fairy  groves,  so  lithe  and  delicate  are 
many  of  these  trees  in  the  first  months  of  their  growth.  There 
are  over  1,200  acres  devoted  to  fruit  and  arbor-culture,  and  among 
the  great  variety  of  fruit  trees,  18,000  are  oranges,  lemons  and 
limes;  there  are  2,000  almond  trees;  500  Italian  chestnut  trees; 
eighty  acres  are  set  out  with  the  English  walnut;  peach,  plum  and 
apple  trees  in  plenty,  though  less  numerous ;  3,000  pepper  trees 
add  an  oriental  feature  to  the  scene  ;  while  60,000  eucalyptus  trees, 
embracing  nearly  thirty  varieties,  add  their  health-giving  qualities 
to  the  airt  one  of  the  pleasing  and  useful  features  of  the  orchard 
is  a  broad  drive-way  or  avenue  three  miles  in  length  by  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  in  width,  bordered  by  these  healthful  and  stately 
foreign  trees,  down  the  centre  of  which  is  a  thrifty  growth  of  the 
smaller  pepper  trees ;  fig  trees,  both  white  and  black,  thrive  on 
this  estate.  Nearly  every  quarter  of  the  world  has  furnished  its 
specimen  trees  to  adorn  these  grounds.  Three  hundred  acres  of 
vineyard  show  a  wonderful  variety  of  American  and  foreign  grapes; 
seventy  acres  being  devoted  to  the  latter.  The  nurseries  are  pro- 
portionately extensive  as  is  the  orchard;  at  one  time  might  be 
seen  60,000  budded  orange  trees;  while  the  young  eucalyptus 
trees  are  set  out  in  groves,  covering  several  acres ;  evergreens  are 
not  overlooked ;  and  this  wonderful  climate  assimilates  them  all. 


454  "LUCKY         BALDWIN. 

Indeed  this  ranch  is  one  of  the  most  astonishing  displays  of  the 
immense  variety  of  fruits  and  foliage  which  will  not  only  grow, 
but  grows  to  the  utmost  perfection  in  Los  Angelos  county.  This 
land  is  generally  level,  with  the  exception  of  some  slight  eleva- 
tions, but  about  the  centre  of  this  modern  Eden  is  a  rise  of  land, 
about  seventy-five  feet  in  height,  which  is  to  be  the  site  for  the 
grand  mansion  of  the  future  ;  when  this  English-Gothic  stone  struc- 
ture is  completed  it  will  overlook  the  entire  estate,  so  far  as  the 
eye  can  see.  Over  half  a  million  dollars  has  been  expended  on 
Santa  Anita.  Art  and  nature  have  combined  to  make  it  one  of  the 
loveliest  spots  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and,  in  some  respects,  there 
are  few  anywhere  which  surpass  it.  The  material  prosperity  of 
Mr.  Baldwin  has  certainly  been  more  uniformly  progressive  than 
many  others  now  exceeding  him  in  wealth,  but  good  judgment 
and  indomitable  energy  have  been  his  prominent  characteristics ; 
his  opportunities  were  self-sought ;  and  though  he  made  many 
changes,  enough  in  his  early  life  to  have  been  labeled  in  old-time 
phraseology  as  a  "  rolling  stone,"  of  which  no  good  was  ever 
prophesied,  yet  it  will  be  noted  that  he  never  relaxed  his  hold  of 
a  paying  concern  until  a  more  profitable  was  within  his  grasp. 

Mr.  Baldwin  has  hitherto  shown  no  disposition  to  leave  the  ex- 
treme West  in  favor  of  either  New  York  or  Paris,  as  so  many  of 
his  peers  in  the  race  for  wealth  in  California  have  done.  While 
in  San  Francisco  he  occupies  at  times  a  suite  of  rooms  in  his  own 
hotel — "The  Baldwin."  He  has  been  twice  married,  but  is  now  a 
widower.  His  daughter  has  also  been  twice  married,  her  last  hus- 
band being  the  noted  horse-trainer,  Budd  Doble.  Mr.  Baldwin's 
social  life  has  been  almost  as  adventurous  as  his  business  enter- 
prises. Soon  after  the  completion  of  his  magnificent  hotel  he  was 
sued  by  one  of  his  employes  for  breach  of  promise  of  marriage, 
putting  the  damages  at  $40,000.  Early  in  the  last  year  (Jan- 
uary 5th,  1883)  Mr.  Baldwin  was  shot  and  wounded  in  the  arm  by 
Miss  Verona  Baldwin,  his  cousin;  the  assault  occurred  in  the  cor- 
ridor of  his  hotel.  The  young  lady  was  arrested  and  incarcerated 


"LUCKY"    BALDWIN.  455 

on  a  charge  of  "intent  to  kill;"  when  the  trial  took  place  the  jury 
was  so  far  convinced  of  the  truth  of  her  story  of  alleged  injustice 
and  injury  that  she  was  unanimously  acquitted  by  a  verdict  of 
"  Not  guilty^"  which  verdict  the  local  papers  united  in  indorsing. 
It  is  evident  that  business  capacity  does  not  always  include  clear- 
ness of  moral  vision  ;  did  it,  Mr.  Baldwin's  $20,000,000  would 
surely  have  enabled  him  to  navigate  with  fewer  shocks  through 
the  perilous  eddies,  rocks  and  shoals  of  social  life  in  California. 
If  Mr.  Baldwin  cannot  be  held  up  in  all  respects  as  a  model  man, 
let  his  young  countrymen  at  least  endeavor  to  emulate  his 
energy,  perseverance  and  regard  for  the  material  prosperity  of 
the  community. 


SAMUEL  J.   TILDEN. 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Columbia  county,  New 
York,  in  1813;  he  received  a  fair  elementary  education,  was  en- 
tered at  Yale  College,  and  later,  studied  at  the  University  of  New 
York,  and  then  commenced  the  study  of  law,  in  the  practice  of 
which  he  soon  made  his  mark.  During  his  early  manhood  polit- 
ical parties  were  divided  into  Whig  and  Democrat,  and  when  Mr. 
Tilden  was  about  thirty-five  the  great  struggle  commenced,  which 
finally  divided  the  latter  into  the  conservative — or  what  has  since 
been  called  "  the  old  Bourbon  element,"  and  the  more  progressive 
party,  headed  by  Martin  Van  Buren.  Mr.  Tilden  was  a  firm  friend 
of  the  latter,  and  from  -the  natural  affiliations  growing  out  of  that 
connection,  became  broader  and  more  national  in  his  spirit  than 
some  of  his  earlier  confreres. 

Mr.  Tilden  was  always  a  man  who  could  learn  by  events,  and 
when  the  great  collision  came  in  1861,  he  had  no  hesitation  as  to 
his  duty  in  the  premises ;  he  squarely  planted  himself  on  the  side 
of  the  Union,  while  some  of  his  friends  stopped  to  talk  about  State 
rights — as  might  safely  be  done  in  time  of  peace,  but  not  in  the 
face  of  civil  war;  he  recognized  the  fact,  that  all  speculative 
theories  must  give  way  to  the  "  supreme  right  of  national  pres- 
ervation." But  it  was  in  the  matter  of  municipal  reform  that  Mr. 
Tilden  won  the  general  admiration  of  all  parties ;  to  his  efforts, 
more  than  to  any  other  person,  is  due  the  final  breaking  up  and 
dissolution  of  the  notorious  "  Tweed  ring  "  in  New  York,  while  his 
record  as  governor  very  justly  won  him  the  nomination  to  the 
Presidency  in  1876,  which  was  responded  to  by  a  handsome  ma- 
jority in  the  popular  vote.  How  the  will  of  the  people  was 
thwarted  and  brought  to  naught,  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  describe 
(456) 


SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN. 


SAMUEL    J.    TILDEN.  457 

here.  History  has  recorded,  and  will  preserve  the  story.  We 
shall  only  remark  that,  in  the  estimation  of  all  honest  men,  Mr. 
Tilden  bore  himself  through  that  trying  crisis  with  a  cool,  self- 
contained  wisdom,  which  must  win  for  him  on  the  page  of  the  his- 
torian, the  highest  possible  commendation,  as  a  patriot  and  a 
respecter  of  law  and  order,  to  which  principle  he  was  ready  to 
sacrifice,  and  did  sacrifice,  everything  but  the  esteem  of  his  fellow- 
citizens. 

After  that  eventful  year  of  1876,  Mr.  Tilden  quietly  occupied 
himself  with  business  affairs,  and  with  the  improvement  of  his 
villa-farm  at  Greystone,  on  the  Hudson,  and  his  splendid  residence 
in  Gramercy  Park,  New  York  city.  For  a  long  time  Mr.  Tilden's 
office  was  in  Wall  street,  and  this  was  shared  by  his  friend,  Mr. 
Charles  F.  McLean,  who  was  jocosely  charged  with  habitually  per- 
sonating Mr.  Tilden  to  unsuspecting  strangers  and  interviewers, 
when  the  Democratic  chief  did  not  choose  to  be  seen.  But  during 
his  last  years  Mr.  Tilden  occupied  an  office  on  the  third  floor  at 
1 20  Nassau  street,  which  adjoined  the  sub-treasury  building;  and 
on  the  door  of  his  suite  of  rooms  was  the  following  information : 
"  New  York  Iron  Mine — Samuel  J.  Tilden — George  W.  Smith." 
To  this  office  "the  chief"  went  three  times  a  week,  Tuesdays, 
Thursdays,  and  Saturdays ;  he  generally  appeared  about  midday, 
and  remained  only  a  short  time.  His  clerks  always  spoke  of  him 
as  "  the  governor,"  and  defended  him  zealously  from  the  prying 
eyes  of  all  newspaper  men.  Besides  this  place,  he  had  also  an 
office  in  the  same  building  with  the  Third  National  Bank,  where 
he  deposited.  He  often  went  down  into  Wall  street  in  a  close 
carriage,  and  summoning  his  broker  to  get  in  and  take  a  seat 
beside  him,  he  thus  got  the  latest  news  of  the  street,  discussed  the 
condition  of  stocks,  gave  his  orders,  and  thus,  while  his  coachman 
was  slowly  driving  around  a  few  blocks,  the  business  of  the  day 
was  transacted,  the  broker  re-deposited,  and  "  the  governor  "  was 
on  his  way  home  or  elsewhere. 

In  summer  Mr.  Tilden  resided  at  Greystone,  about  twelve  miles 


458  SAMUEL   J.    TILDEN. 

from  the  city,  near  the  town  of  Yonkers,  on  the  North  river; 
hence  the  sobriquet  of  "  the  Sage  of  Greystone."  Here  we  find 
the  once  president-elect  in  the  guise  of  a  farmer,  and  his  farm  was 
as  thoroughly  well  managed  as  were  his  finances,  and  that  is  say- 
ing a  great  deal  in  its  praise ;  here  he  kept  blooded  stock,  cattle, 
poultry  and  thorough-bred  dogs ;  everything  was  the  best  of  its 
kind,  particularly  horses,  in  which  he  took  great  pleasure.  The 
ground  itself  of  which  the  farm  was  composed  had  a  very  undu- 
lating surface,  with  hills  and  dales  which  made  a  tour  of  the  place 
somewhat  fatiguing  to  city  visitors;  and  it  was  more  than  sus- 
pected that  when  certain  politicians  went  to  Greystone  to  spy  out 
the  condition  of  the  ex-governor's  health  he  took  a  somewhat 
malicious  pleasure  in  leading  them  a  wearisome  tramp  about 
the  farm ;  easily  tiring  them  out,  and  so  leaving  them  to 
draw  their  inferences.  As  Mr.  Tilden  was  never  married,  his 
house  was  presided  over  by  a  sister.  Greystone  was  sufficiently 
near  the  city  to  be  accessible  to  those  whom  its  owner  desired  to 
see,  while  it  was  just  far  enough  away  to  keep  the  ordinary  idle 
caller  from  becoming  too  much  of  a  bore. 

The  historical  house  in  Gramercy  Park,  which  Mr.  Tilden 
had  occupied  for  many  years  (No.  15),  underwent  great 
expansion  and  improvement.  The  house  next  to  it,  formerly 
occupied  by  his  friend,  Mr.  McLean,  was  added  to  it,  and  the 
whole  facade  of  both  houses  so  remodeled  as  to  present  the  ap- 
pearance of  one  very  large  mansion.  There  are  many  beautiful 
and  expensive  buildings  in  New  York,  but  not  one  more  artistically 
harmonious  than  this.  "Gramercy  Park"  is  simply  a  single 
block  or  square  of  ground  reserved  on  Lexington  avenue  between 
Twentieth  and  Twenty-first  streets.  It  is  planted  and  kept  in  good 
condition,  and  answers  the  purpose  of  an  airing  place  for  nurslings 
and  small  children,  but  has  otherwise  no  park-like  features,  being 
too  small  to  scarcely  deserve  the  name  ;  still  it  is  pleasanter  to 
look  across  this  square  of  green  sward  and  shrubbery  than  to  feel 
a  pile  of  brick  or  brown  stone  reflecting  the  heat  or  blocking  the- 


SAMUEL    J.    TILDEX.  459 

view  at  a  distance  of  only  a  narrow  street  between.  It  is  on 
Twentieth  street  that  Mr.  Tilden's  house  stands,  facing  on  the 
southern  side  of  "  Gramercy  Park."  That  the  busy  politician 
and  successful  financier  should  have  been  capable  of  conceiving- 
such  an  approximation  to  absolute  perfection,  in  the  transforma- 
tion of  two  plain  houses  into  such  an  aesthetic  whole,  spoke 
volumes  for  the  general  and  versatile  culture  of  the  owner.  The 
appearance  is  extremely  imposing ;  it  is  fifty  feet  front,  and  in  depth 
extends  nearly  to  Nineteenth  street.  There  are  two  entrances, 
and  between  these  are  very  wide  and  handsomely  designed  bay- 
windows  which  are  carried  up  to  the  fourth  story.  The  general 
character  of  the  architecture  is  Gothic,  but  this  is  very  freely  treated ; 
there  is  much  ornamentation,  but  all  in  exquisite  taste.  It  is  not 
Ijasy  to  contrive  novelties  in  the  treatment  of  facades,  but  this  has 
been  done  here  in  a  very  pleasing  manner  in  one  way  by  the 
management  of  the  cornice  line,  which  has  been  divided  into  pedi- 
ments— "  breakincr "  as  the  architects  say,  "  the  skv-line,"  which  in 

O  J  '  * 

a  house  fifty  feet  front,  if  carried  out  in  the  common  fashion,  is  apt 
to  give  a  heavy  and  oppressive  look  to  the  structure.  On  the 
northeast  corner  it  was  desired  to  place  a  flag-staff,  and  this  has 
been  treated  in  a  very  happy  manner  to  aid  the  general  effect.  A 
substantial  square  metal  base  supports  a  pediment  which  holds  the 
flag-staff,  and  this  is  made  to  assist  the  eye  in  following  the  dom- 
inating apex,  secured  by  treating  the  main  chimney  in  an  orna- 
mental manner,  giving  to  the  summit  a  sort  of  pyramidal  form  by 
a  culminating  point,  as  "  drawing  up  the  sky-line  to  an  apex."  The 
verbal  or  written  description  of  this  architectural  effect  by  no 
means  conveys  an  adequate  idea  of  the  sense  of  beautiful  propor- 
tion which  is  thus  bestowed  on  the  whole  structure;  the  tout  eii- 
scmble  is  remarkably  fine  and  entirely  unlike  any  other  house  in 
the  city. 

One  feature  which  attracts  the  attention  of  every  passer-by  on 
Twentieth  street  are  five  beautifully  carved  heads,  in  high  relief, 
set  medallion  fashion  between  the  bay-windows  on  the  first  floor: 


460  SAMUEL    J.    TILDEN. 

these  are  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Franklin,  Goethe,  Dante  ;  around 
the  old  entrance  is  some  very  fine  ornamental  carving,  and  the 
four  seasons  are  symbolically  represented  by  the  heads  of  those 
mythological  deities  which  preside  over  them.  Over  the  new 
entrance  is  the  head  of  Michael  Angelo.  Another  unusual  point 
is  the  very  handsome  and  substantial  treatment  of  the  front  area, 
which  is  enclosed  in  an  open  balustrade  of  real  bronze,  of  which 
material  are  also  the  guards  of  the  basement  windows,  the  gates 
being  solid  of  the  same  rich  metal ;  the  railings  of  the  stoops  are 
a  combination  of  bronze  and  ebony ;  massiveness,  without  being 
heavy,  and  costly,  without  a  shadow  of  vulgar  display,  is  the  effect 
of  these  unique  embellishments,  but  a  fraction  of  which  we  have 
endeavored  to  describe ;  "  magnificent "  is  not  too  large  a  word  to 
employ  as  the  sum  total  of  the  effect.  * 

The  interior  of  the  house  is  equally  rich,  and  designed  for  use 
and  comfort ;  the  new  portion  of  the  building,  on  the  lower  floor, 
is  occupied  as  a  library.  As  was  well  known,  Mr.  Tilden  had  long 
possessed  one  of  the  most  valuable  libraries  in  the  country,  pos- 
sibly the  very  best;  to  this  he  added  new  works  to  the  value 
of  $15,000;  this  collection  is  particularly  rich  in  works  on  art. 
Although  Mr.  Tilden's  house  was  overflowing  with  books  in 
every  part  of  it,  yet  the  library  proper  is  worthy  of  special  men- 
tion ;  it  consists  of  three  very  large  rooms  thrown  into  one  by 
means  of  folding  doors ;  the  floor  is  of  inlaid  woods  of  various 
colors  and  forms.  The  ceiling  is  ribbed  with  richly  carved  oak 
crossing  over  a  surface  of  blue  tiles ;  the  book-cases  are  of  carved 
maple  and  satin  wood ;  these  do  not  project  into  the  room  in  the 
•ungainly  fashion  of  most  libraries,  but  are  so  built  into  the  wall  as 
to  form  part  of  it,  which  gives  an  aspect  of  airiness  and  space  un- 
usual in  libraries,  public  or  private.  Notwithstanding  the  immense 
number  of  books  collected  in  the  Gramercy  Park  mansion  Mr. 
Tilden  had  almost  as  large  a  number  at  Greystone.  This  won- 
derful city  residence  was  finished  throughout  in  the  same  good  taste 
as  the  exterior  and  the  library.  The  dining-room  is  a  marvel  of 


SAMUEL   J.    TILDEN.  461 

comfort  and  elegance.  An  elevator  conveys  the  family  or  visitors 
to  the  upper  floors.  The  cost  of  this  building  was  $500,000.  It 
was  three  years  in  course  of  construction ;  is  fire-proof;  has  brick 
floors,  iron  beams  and  girders  ;  the  roof  is  iron,  tiled  over.  There 
is  no  paper  in  the  house,  all  the  walls  being  finished  in  fresco,  oil, 
hard  wood,  terra-cotta — anything  but  paper.  Stained  glass  is  a 
feature  which  gives  tone  and  brilliancy  to  all  the  lower  part. 

It  had  been  currently  reported  at  the  time  that  Mr.  Tilden,  in 
remodelling  this  house  in  the  magnificent  style  described,  had  the 
ultimate  intention  of  bequeathing  it  to  the  city  of  New  York  for 
a  library,  which  he  did  in  his  will.  There  was  naturally  much  in- 
terest taken  in  all  that  related  to  the  great  Democratic  statesman, 
who  stood  in  such  a  unique  position  before  the  nation,  as  that  of  a 
man  elected  to  the  highest  office  without  filling  it.  All  his  move- 
ments were  chronicled  elaborately,  if  not  always  truthfully,  and  the 
subject  of  his  health  was  a  never-ceastng  topic  with  politicians,  who 
were  ever  on  the  alert,  and  imagined  that  he  must  always  be  con- 
templating running  for  some  office,  but  so  contradictory  were 
these  reports  that  they  mutually  nullified  each  other.  The  simple 
fact  was,  that  Mr.  Tilden  was  neither  decrepit  with  age  nor  ih  the 
fresh  buoyancy  of  youth ;  he  was  a  very  well-preserved  man  of 
seventy  years  of  age  at  that  time.  His  mind  was  clear ;  in  busi- 
ness matters  he  was  as  keen  as  ever.  He  had  always  used  his 
mental  faculties,  and  they  were  strengthened  by  use,  but  not  over- 
strained. For  many  years,  when  practising  at  the  bar,  he  was 
known  as  a  "  railroad  lawyer,"  which  practice  gave  him  a  fine  in- 
sight into  the  condition  of  stocks  here  and  there,  from  which 
information  he  was  not  slow  tp  profit.  He  owned  a  great  deal  of 
real  estate.  As  Governor  of  New  York,  he  became  thoroughly 
conversant  with  all  the  different  interests  of  the  city  and  country 
districts,  the  canals  and  the  seaboard  ;  finance  on  a  large  scale  was 
no  mystery  to  his  keen  intellect,  and,  with  all  his  business  ac- 
tivity, he  had  for  many  years  allowed  himself  sufficient  recreation 
and  repose,  or,  if  not  exactly  repose,  sufficient  change  of  occupa- 


462  SAMUEL   J.    TILDEN. 

tion  to  keep  body  and  mind  in  a  condition  of  healthy  equilibrium. 
His  reading  had  not  been  limited  to  law  books  or  to  railroad 
reports;  art  and  general  literature  had  come  in. for  a  share  of  at- 
tention. When  in  New  York  he  took  his  daily  drives  in  Central 
Park  or  on  the  Boulevard,  not  infrequently  driving  a  span  of 
horses  to  Greystone;  and  then  this  farm-place  was  like  an  assured 
bill  of  health  to  its  owner;  here  was  a  perfect  change  from  the 
sights  and  sounds  of  Wall  street,  and  deliverance  from  the  crowd 
of  second-class  politicians  who  are  always  hanging  to  the  garments 
of  a  natural  leader  of  men. 

He  was  even  relieved  himself  of  much  detail  and  routine  busi- 
ness by  placing  a  part  of  his  financial  affairs  into  the  hands  of  his 
old  friend,  Andrew  H.  Green  ;  but  if  anybody  imagined  that  "  the 
Governor"  dropped  the  reins,  until  he  died,  he  was  very  much 
mistaken.  Mr.  Tilden's  estate  was  reckoned  at  not  less  than  $10- 
000,000.  As  he  was  unmarried,  and  his  nearest  relatives  were  well 
off,  the  destination  of  his  large  fortune  was  naturally  to  be  ex- 
pected. He  gave  the  magnificent  library  to  New  York,  which  will 
ever  remain  one  of  its  chief  ornaments.  Mr.  Tilden  died  at  Grey- 
stone  on  the  Hudson  on  the  4th  of  August,  1886. 


,  PAUL  TULANE. 

AMONG  the  generous  millionaires  who  proposed  to  benefit  the 
youth  of  the  country,  and  at  the  same  time  erect  their  own  me- 
morial for  future  remembrance  during  their  lifetime,  was  Mr. 
Paul  Tulane,  of  New  Orleans,  but  a  native  and  resident  of 
New  Jersey.  Paul  was  born  in  Princeton,  near  the  close  of  the 
last 'century.  The  family,  as  the  name  indicates,  was  originally 
French ;  they  lived  on  a  farm  called  Rocky  Hill,  and  though  from 
this  site  Princeton  College  even  then  held  out  its  beckoning  hands 
to  the  youth  of  the  vicinity,  young  Paul  was  not  of  the  fortu- 
nate number  to  enter  those  classic  precincts.  What  education  he 
had  in  his  youth  was  received  in  the  ordinary  schools  of  the  place, 
and  his  career,  as  well  as  that  of  thousands  of  others,  proves  at 
least  that  a  collegiate  education  is  not  a  necessary  adjunct  to  the 
acquisition  of  a  fortune. 

Neither  in  his  youth  was  a  New  Jersey  farm,  and  that  a  stony 
one,  the  place  in  which  to  accumulate  riches.  So,  with  the  ambi- 
tion natural  to  his  age,  he  early  in  life  started  out  to  seek  a  wider 
sphere  for  his  enterprise.  Perhaps  it  was  the  traditions  of  the 
family,  ever  linked  with  the  old  love  for  la  belle  France,  which  led 
him  to  select  the  city  of  New  Orleans  for  his  first  essay ;  there  at 
least  he  would  find  a  numerous  population  with  which  any  one  of 
French  stock  could  readily  fraternize.  Establishing  himself  as  a 
merchant-tailor,  he  grew  up  with  the  city,  and,  by  his  fair  dealing 
and  ready  tact  in  business,  soon  drew  to  himself  the  lion's  share  of 
business  in  his  line.  He  prospered  almost  beyond  precedent,  and, 
when  the  surplus  funds  increased  beyond  the  uses  of  trade,  he 
began  to  invest  in  real  estate.  New  Orleans  has  seen  many 
fluctuations  in  values,  but  in  the  long  run  those  clear-headed  men 

(463) 


464  PAUL     TULANE. 

who  foresaw  the  direction  of  the  future  growth  of  the  city  forty 
years  ago  could  hardly  fail  to  make  large  profits  from  the  rise  in 
real  estate. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Tulane,  while  still  a  merchant  in  the  Cres- 
cent City,  had  spent  the  summer  months  in  his  native  Princeton  ; 
and  when,  in  1857,  he  retired  from  active  business,  he  bought 
what  was  known  as  the  "  old  Stockton  Place,"  in  which  to  enjoy 
the  otium  cum  dignitate  which  his  forty  years  of  business  activity 
had  fairly  earned.  The  "  Stockton  Place  "  had  a  history,  which 
links  it  with  the  names  both  of  Commodore  Stockton  and  of  the 
late  Attorney-General  Stockton,  who  was  American  Minister  to 
Rome  under  President  Buchanan ;  but  its  best  recommendation  to 
Mr.  Tulane  was  its  proximity  to  the  home  of  his  old  friend,  the 
late  Charles  S.  Olden,  the  "War  Governor"  of  New  Jersey.  The 
"Stockton  Place'"'  is  situated  on  the  left  of  the  College  buildings, 
and  nearly  half  a  mile  distant.  The  house,  which  is  of  stone,  a 
solid  square  structure,  stands  in  the  centre  of  a  space  occupying 
an  entire  city  block  ;  shade  trees  and  well-kept  lawns,  with  broad 
verandas,  give  to  the  place  a  cool,  refreshing,  comfortable  aspect ; 
and  here,  enjoying  the  shelter  from  the  sun  and  the  pleasant  sum- 
mer breeze,  the  owner  was  frequently  to  be  seen  sitting  outside, 
his  venerable  aspect  naturally  attracting  the  attention  of  passers- 
by  ;  sometimes  surrounded  by  young  relatives ;  for  though  never 
married,  Mr.  Tulane  kept  no  solitary  state,  but  surrounded  him- 
self with  friends,  who  shared  this,  pleasant  retreat  with  him. 

Though  relieved,  from  the  routine  of  business,  Mr.  Tulane 
never  considered  himself  relieved  from  fulfilling  the  duties  of  good 
citizenship. 

During  the  war  Mr.  Tulane  found  it  necessary  to  proceed  to 
New  Orleans  to  save  his  property  from  confiscation  ;  in  the  haste 
to  consider  every  one  disloyal  in  that  city,  unless  an  owner  was  on 
the  spot,  and  able  to  prove  his  integrity,  mistakes  and  injustice 
were  apt  to  occur ;  but  Mr.  Tulane  was  able  to  preserve  his  large 
estates  there  without  material  loss ;  and  his  good  friend,  Governor 


PAUL  TULANE.  465 

Olden,  of  New  Jersey,  saw  to  it  that  his  Princeton  property  did 
not  suffer  in  the  interim.  After  the  peace  he  was  again  found  in 
his  accustomed  place  on  the  veranda  of  the  old  stone  house ;  and 
during  all  the  years  of  his  retirement,  Mr.  Tulane  steadily 
built  up  a  reputation  for  liberal  and  discriminating  charity, 
which  caused  him  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  sort  of  modern  "Abou1 
Ben  Adhem"  among  his  neighbors  and  co temporaries.  One 
rather  uncommon  item  of  his  charities  was  a  way  he  had  of  paying 
pew-rents  for  poor  people,  so  that  they  need  not  be  humiliated  by 
sitting  in  special  pews  set  apart  for  the  impecunious.  At  Christ- 
mas time  he  often  gave  away  as  many  as  two  hundred  turkeys, 
and  this  was  but  one  item  among  other  timely  gifts.  Like  one  of 
the  Lowells,  of  Boston,  he  had  a  special  tenderness  as  to  the  poor 
suffering  from  cold,  and  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
estimate  the  value  of  the  numerous  loads  of  wood  and  coal  quietly 
unloaded  before  unexpectant  eyes  but  grateful  hearts,  as  the  re- 
cipient recognized  the  fact  that  "  Mr.  Tulane  must  have  sent  it ! " 

Not  content  with  these  continuous  donations  of  a  private  kind, 
Mr.  Tulane,  who  always  cherished  a  kindly  feeling  for  the  city  of 
New  Orleans,  the  place  where  he  laid  the  basis  of  his  large  for- 
tune, determined  to  pay  back  with  interest  the  debt  of  gratitude 
which  he  felt  he  owed  to  that  community,  which  had  so  liberally 
sustained  him  in  his  early  manhood  and  maturer  age.  He 
finally  determined  to  appropriate  the  bulk  of  his  real  estate  in  that 
city  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  University  there.  This 
property  amounted  in  value  to  $2,000,000,  and  the  income  ot  this 
he  desired  to  apply  to  the  immediate  founding  of  the  institution 
of  learning  which  is  limited  to  the  use  and  for  the  education  of 
white  young  men  of  New  Orleans.  Languages,  literature,  science 
and  art  were  designated  as  the  leading  studies  to  be  cultivated, 
though  it  was  not  understood  that  other  branches  of  learning  were 
to  be  excluded,  otherwise  a  College  would  have  been  a  more  fitting 
name  than  that  of  "University."  Mr.  Tulane  next  engaged 
certain  friends  of  his  in  New  Orleans  to  obtain  incorporation  as  a 
30 


466  PAUL    TULANE. 

company,  and  secure  a  charter  from  the  Legislature,  and  also,  if 
possible,  exemption  from  taxation  for  the  property  donated.  Hav- 
ing proceeded  as  far  as  they  could  in  carrying  out  these  requests, 
four  of  the  trustees,  namely,  Messrs.  General  Gibson,  of  Louisiana; 
James  McConnell,  W.  H.  Hughes,  and  W.  H.  Strong,  came  to 
Princeton,  bringing  the  necessary  documents  with  them,  to  enable 
Mr.  Tulane  to  make  the  transfer  of  his  property  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees ;  this  he  did  in  the  presence  of  a  Commissioner  for  the 
State  of  Louisiana.  By  the  deed  thus  conveyed  (June,  1882)  the 
College  was  donated  exclusively  for  the  education  of  white  males. 
Mr.  Tulane  had  not,  it  seems,  any  objection  to  the  education  of 
the  colored  race,  but  apparently  wished  to  avoid  all  exciting  ques- 
tions as  to  the  beneficiaries  intended,  and  specially  wished  to  pre- 
vent any  of  the  funds  from  being  employed  in  testing  legal  ques- 
tions as  to  rights  of  admission.  Of  "  co-education,"  in  the  modern 
meaning  of  that  phrase,  he  did  not  appear  to  have  ever  thought. 
The  trustees  are  forbidden  to  sell  or  mortgage  any  part  of  the 
real  estate  for  fifty  years,  but  if,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  they  or 
their  successors  "  deem  it  wise  "  they  may  sell  the  property  and 
divide  the  proceeds  among  the  educational  institutions  of  the  city. 
It  is  left  optional  with  the  trustees  either  to  build  or  lease  for  the 
purposes  of  College  accommodation.  This  generous  deed,  giving 
away  unconditionally  $2,000,000,  was  signed  by  Mr.  Tulane  in  a 
bold  hand,  strongly  resembling  that  of  the  familiar  name  of  John 
Hancock  when  signing  the  original  Declaration  of  Independence. 
After  this  action  became  known  in  Princeton,  a  bank  director 
was  heard  to  remark:  "Well,  we  are  still  ready  to  honor  his  check 
for  another  $2,<x>o,ooo."  To  show  the  anxiety  of  Mr.  Tulane  that 
no  legal  doubts  should  arise  over  the  execution  of  this  trust-fund 
after  his  death,  we  may  mention  that,  having  observed  some  inter- 
lineations in  some  of  the  papers,  he  ordered  new  drafts  to  be  pre- 
pared, which  should  be  absolutely  correct,  and  unmarred  by 
erasures  or  additions.  At  the  request  of  his  friends,  after  the 
signing  of  the  deed,  Mr.  Tulane  allowed  himself  to  be  photo- 


PAUL   TULANE.  467 

graphed — full  length,  life-size,  holding  the  deed  of  conveyance  in 
his  right  hand.  From  this  an  oil  painting  was  made,  which 
adorned  the  walls  of  the  university  when  it  was  opened  for  the  re- 
ception of  pupils. 

On  one  point  the  incorporators  had  failed;  they  could  not  secure 
the  exemption  from  taxation  of  the  property  thus  signed  away  for 
the  public  good  by  Mr.  Tulane.  To  test  the  matter,  a  suit  was 
brought  in  the  Civil  District  Court  of  New  Orleans,  to  secure  an 
injunction  restraining  the  State  tax  assessors  from  assessing  the 
property,  and  this  court  decided  in  favor  of  the  applicants,  but  on 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  Justice  Manning  decided  in  favor 
of  the  assessors.  The  next  step  taken  by  -the  friends  of  the 
university  was  to  petition  the  Legislature  of  the  State  to  pass  a 
law  exempting  the  property  by  name  from  taxation.  The  cause 
of  the  institution  was  advocated  by  the  Hon.  William  A.  Seay,  of 
Caddo,  Louisiana;  he  particularly  dwelling  upon  the  point  that  the 
events  of  the  war,  having  given  the  franchise  to  ignorance,  has 
made  the  subject  of  education  the  one  of  supreme  importance. 
With  much  wit,  as  well  as  wisdom,  he  argued  that  the  most  en- 
lightened people  of  antiquity  not  only  did  not  tax  their  benefactors, 
but  generously  supported  them  at  the  expense  of  the  State,  while 
the  benefactor  of  New  Orleans  only  asked  not  to  have  his  gift  to 
the  people  curtailed  by  the  tax-gatherer.  Mr.  Seay  was  himself  a 
graduate  of  Princeton,  and  therefore  more  fully  appreciated  the 
value  of  Mr.  Tulane's  gift. 

The  organization  of  the  faculty  was  begun  by  the  election  of 
Colonel  William  Preston  Johnson,  son  of  the  late  Albert  Sidney 
Johnson,  as  President  of  the  University,  and  Senator  R.  L.  Gibson, 
as  chief  of  its  Executive  Committee.  That  Mr.  Tulane  stood 
ready  to  add  an  endowment  fund  of  the  value  of  $16,000  per 
annum,  if  the  main  fund  was  exempt  from  taxation,  was  certainly 
a  forcible  argument  in  its  favor. 

Notwithstanding  the  continual  outflow  of  Mr.  Tulane's  generos- 
ity, his  wealth  continued  to  increase  rather  than  diminish.  He 


468  PAUL  TULANE. 

owned  about  $500,000  in  stock  of  the  United  Railways  of  New 
Jersey,  which  was  leased  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railway,  which  guar- 
anteed an  annual  dividend  of  ten  per  cent.,  and  this  was  but  one 
item  of  his  many  investments.  Mr.  Tulane  lived  to  pass  his  three- 
score and  ten  years,  and  remained  to  see  and  welcome  graduates 
from  the  institution  he  was  wise  enough  to  found  while  his  mental 
faculties  were  yet  clear,  thus  avoiding  the  chance  of  a  disputed 
will,  and  the  fruits  of  a  lifetime  of  labor  dissipated  among  the  legal 
fraternity — a  very  useful  and  honorable  body,  but  not  often  volun- 
tarily chosen  as  the  legatees  of  millionaires.  In  personal  appear- 
ance Mr.  Tulane  was  of  medium  height,  naturally  a  man  of  brawn 
and  sinew,  and  with  no  waste  timber  in  his  make-up.  He  ad- 
hered to  the  old  fashion  of  close  shaving,  but  his  eyebrows  were 
very  heavy  and  grayer  than  his  hair,  which  was  originally  black. 
He  was  in  every  respect  well  preserved,  which  a  man  of  his  gen- 
erous impulses  deserves  to  be,  until  his  last  illness,  which  resulted 
in  his  death  March  28,  1887. 


' 


M.    W.    BALDWIN. 


MATTHIAS  W.   BALDWIN. 

MATTHIAS  W.  BALDWIN,  the  most  celebrated  locomotive-engine- 
builder  America  has  ever  produced,  was  born  on  December  roth, 
1795,  in  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey.  His  father  was  William 
Baldwin,  a  carriage-maker.  The  family  at  one  time  was  in  pros- 
perous circumstances,  but  the  death  of  Mr.  Baldwin  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  series  of  misfortunes,  which  terminated  in  the  loss  of  all 
the  property  which  had  been  left  for  the  maintenance  of  the  widow 
and  her  children.  This  disaster  was  the  result  chiefly  of  the  mis- 
management of  the  estate  by  the  executors. 

Mathias  was  thus  very  early  brought  face  to  face  with  the  hard 
realities  of  life,  and  taught  those  lessons  of  self-reliance  and  self- 
helpfulness  which  are  so  essential  to  success  in  its  struggle.  At 
an  early  period  he  developed  a  decided  genius  for  mechanics ;  his 
toys  were  taken  apart,  not  simply  to  gratify  his  childish  curiosity, 
so  common  in  one  of  his  years,  but  with  an  eager  interest  to  learn 
the  secret  of  their  mechanism.  Often  he  would  reproduce  his 
toys  in  an  improved  form,  or  construct  others  superior  in  ingenu- 
ity and  finish  to  those  he  had  destroyed. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  firm  of  Wool- 
worth  Brothers,  manufacturers  of  jewelry  in  Frankfort,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Here  he  served  his  full  time,  mastering  all  the  details  of  the 
business  and  becoming  a  highly  finished  workman.  Armed  with 
the  highest  testimonials  from  his  late  masters,  he,  upon  attaining 
his  majority,  entered  the  employment  of  the  firm  of  Fletcher  &  Gar- 
diner, very  extensive  manufacturers  of  jewelry  in  Philadelphia,  where 
he  speedily  became  the  most  useful  and  trusted  workman  in  the  es- 
tablishment, producing  work  of  the  highest  delicacy  in  finish  and 

(469) 


470  MATTHIAS    W.    BALDWIN. 

of  great  beauty  and  originality  of  design.  In  the  year  1819  he 
determined  to  assume  a  more  independent  position  and  begin 
business  as  a  jeweler  upon  his  own  account.  But  this  laudable 
effort  to  improve  his  fortunes  was  not  destined  to  be  successful  ; 
a  great  depression  in  trade  came  on,  financial  difficulties  ensued, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  During  the  next 
few  years  he  was  engaged  in  a  large  number  and  variety  of  under- 
takings, all  illustrating  the  versatility  of  his  resources  and  his  skill 
as  a  mechanic,  if  not  his  business  ability.  For  a  brief  period, 
however,  he  abandoned  mechanics,  and,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Simon  Colton,  engaged  in  the  grocery  trade  at  the  corner  of 
Second  and  Dock  streets,  Philadelphia,  then  the  business  centre 
of  the  city.  But  his  mechanical  genius  soon  asserted  itself,  and 
he  turned  his  attention  to  the  invention  and  manufacture  of 
machinery. 

Among  the  results  of  his  inventive  ability  was  a  process  by 
which  gilding  was  greatly  simplified.  He  also  invented  the 
copper  cylinder  for  printing  calicoes,  an  invention  which  was  of 
the  highest  possible  practical  utility  and  importance,  and  which 
indeed  created  a  revolution  in  the  industry,  the  printing  up  to  that 
time  having  been  done  by  means  of  blocks  and  hand-presses. 
Previous  to  this  he  had  made  such  great  improvements  in  the 
manufacture  of  book-binders'  tools — which,  up  to  that  time,  had 
been  chiefly  imported — as  to  drive  all  foreign  goods  out  of  the 
market.  The  making  of  wooden  screws  was  another  branch  of 
industry  in  which  he  was  highly  successful. 

Work  now  came  in  so  rapidly  that  he  was  compelled  to  increase 
the  size  of  his  shop,  as  well  as  some  additional  motive  power.  In 
his  humble  beginnings  he  had  used  foot  and  hand  machinery;  then 
horse-power  was  employed,  and  finally  he  purchased  a  small  steam- 
engine.  Upon  trial  this  did  not  prove  entirely  satisfactory,  and  he 
determined  to  build  one  for  himself;  and  so,  entirely  from  his  own 
drawings,  was  produced  a  little  six-horse-power  engine,  occupying 
but  six  square  feet  of  space,  which  is  now  nearly  fifty  years  old, 


MATTHIAS     W.    BALDWIN.  4/1 

and  up  to  a  few  years  ago  was  doing  good  service  in  the  boiler- 
room  of  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  in  Philadelphia,  where  it 
is  still  in  good  order  and  carefully  preserved. 

As  will  be  seen,  this  event  was  not  without  its  significance,  for  it 
doubtless  turned  his  attention  to  a  field  of  enterprise  in  which  it  was 
to  be  his  fortune  to  achieve  the  highest  possible  success.  The  first 
locomotive  ever  brought  to  this  country  was  imported,  in  1830,  by  the 
Camden  &  Amboy  Railroad  Company.  Its  advent,  of  course,  excited 
the  greatest  possible  curiosity  and  interest  among  all  classes,  but 
especially  among  machinists.  Mr.  Baldwin  carefully  examined  this 
engine  before  it  was  put  together,  and  made  drawings  of  its 
mechanism.  These,  together  with  such  published  descriptions  as 
he  was  able  to  obtain  of  the  locomotives  then  in  use  upon  the 
Liverpool  &  Manchester  Railway  in  England,  and  others  which 
had  taken  part  in  the  Rainhill  competition  in  that  country,  furnished 
the  basis  upon  which  he  proceeded  to  construct  a  miniature  engine, 
which  in  many  respects  was  a  substantial  improvement  upon  its 
predecessors. 

The  building  of  this  engine  was  undertaken  at  the  urgent  re- 
quest of  Mr.  Franklin  Peale,  proprietor  of  what  was  then  known 
as  Peale's  Museum,  in  Philadelphia.  Upon  its  completion,  a  cir- 
cular track  of  pine  boards,  covered  with  hoop-iron  and  laid  upon 
the  floor  of  the  building,  was  built  for  it,  as  well  as  two  small  cars, 
holding  four  persons,  and  on  April  25th,  1831,  the  little  motor  be- 
gan its  trips.  The  novelty  of  the  spectacle  drew  an  immense 
number  of  people  to  the  museum,  much  to  the  profit  of  the  mana- 
ger. And  so  began  Mr.  Baldwin's  course  as  a  locomotive  builder. 
The  success  of  this  experimental  effort  resulted  in  an  immediate 
order  for  a  locomotive  for  the  Germantown  Railroad,  a  short  road 
— but  six  miles  long — running  out  of  Philadelphia. 

In  working  upon  this  large  one  he  experienced  great  difficulties; 
not  only  had  much  of  the  machinery,  but  also  the  tools  for  its 
making,  to  be  originated.  Cylinders  were  bored  by  a  chisel  fixed 
in  a  block  of  wood  and  turned  by  hand ;  workmen  also  were  in- 


472  MATTHIAS    W.    BALDWIN. 

experienced  ;  blacksmiths  able  to  weld  a  bar  of  iron  exceeding  one 
and  a  quarter  inches  in  thickness  were  few  or  not  to  be  had.  In- 
deed, much  of  the  work  upon  this  engine  he  was  compelled  to  do 
with  his  own  hands.  Although  some  imperfections  were  found  to 
exist  when  it  made  its  trial  trip,  November  23d,  1832,  it  proved  to 
be  a  substantial  success,  and,  after  some  slight  modifications,  it  was 
accepted  by  the  company,  in  whose  service  it  remained  for  the 
period  of  fully  twenty  years. 

As  compared  with  modern  locomotives,  it  was  a  puny  and  ill- 
made  affair ;  weighed  but  five  tons,  the  contract  price  for  its  build- 
ing being  only  $3,500.  The  smoke-stack  was  a  cylinder,  uniform 
in  diameter  at  all  points ;  its  top  bent  at  right  angles  and  carried 
backward  towards  the  rear  of  the  engine.  The  wheels  were  made 
with  heavy  cast-iron  hubs,  wooden  spokes  and  rims  and  wrought- 
iron  tires.  The  introduction  of  a  steam-engine  upon  this  road, 
which  had  previously  relied  solely  upon  horse  power,  excited  great 
interest  in  the  community,  and  caused  the  managers  to  issue  the 
following:  "  NOTICE — The  locomotive-engine  (built  by  Mr.  M.  W. 
Baldwin  of  this  city)  will  depart  daily,  when  the  weather  is  fair, 
with  a  train  of  passenger  cars.  On  rainy  days  horses  will  be 
attached!" 

The  Chronicle,  a  local  newspaper,  under  the  date  of  November 
24th,  1832,  has  the  following  account  of  the  trial  trip  of  this  en- 
gine, which  was  christened  the  "Old  Ironsides":  "It  gives  us 
pleasure  to  state  that  the  locomotive-engine  built  by  our  towns- 
man, M.  W.  Baldwin,  has  proved  highly  successful.  In  the  pres- 
ence of  several  gentlemen  of  science  and  information  on  such 
subjects,  the  engine  was  yesterday  placed  upon  the  road  for  the 
first  time.  All  her  parts  had  been  previously  highly  finished  and 
fitted  together  in  Mr.  Baldwin's  factory.  She  was  taken  apart 
on  Tuesday  and  removed  to  the  company's  depot,  and  yesterday 
morning  she  was  completely  put  together,  ready  for  travel.  After 
the  regular  passenger-cars  had  arrived  from  Germantown  in  the 
afternoon,  the  tracks  being  clear,  preparation  was  made  for  her 


MATTHIAS    W.    BALDWIN.  473 

starting.  The  placing  fire  in  the  furnace  and  raising  steam  occu- 
pied twenty  minutes. 

"The  engine  (with  her  tender)  moved  from  the  depot  in  beautiful 
style,  working  with  great  ease  and  uniformity.  She  proceeded 
about  half  a  mile  beyond  the  Union  tavern,  at  the  township  line, 
and  returned  immediately,  a  distance  of  six  miles,  at  a  speed  of 
about  twenty-eight  miles  to  the  hour,  her  speed  having  been 
slackened  at  all  the  road  crossings,  and  it  being  after  dark,  but  a 
portion  of  her  power  was  used.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
spectators  were  delighted.  From  this  experiment  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  this  engine  will  draw  thirty  tons  gross,  at  an 
average  speed  of  forty  miles  an  hour  on  a  level  road."  . 

Notwithstanding  difficulties  and  embarrassments  so  great  as  to 
almost  induce  him  to  say  at  one  time,  "This  is  our  last  locomo- 
tive," he  produced  in  1834  two  engines,  one  for  the  South  Carolina 
Railroad,  and  the  other  for  the  Pennsylvania  State  Line  Railroad, 
running  from  Philadelphia  to  Columbia,  and  built  and  operated 
by  the  State.  This  latter  engine  was  the  largest  and  most  pow- 
erful which  up  to  that  time  had  been  built.  It  weighed  17,000 
pounds  and  was  capable  of  drawing  seventeen  loaded  cars  at  one 
time. 

Other  orders  immediately  followed :  several  for  the  same  road, 
by  order  of  the  legislature,  and  one  for  the  Philadelphia  and  Tren- 
ton Railroad.  In  the  year  1835  he  built  fourteen  locomotives,  and 
in  1836  the  large  number  of  forty  were  completed  in  his  already 
famous  works. 

But  the  great  financial  panic  of  1837,  in  which  so  many  fortunes 
were  wrecked,  and  in  which  an  almost  universal  bankruptcy  over- 
whelmed the  nation,  counted  Mr.  Baldwin  too  among  its  victims. 
Unable  to  meet  his  obligations,  he  called  together  his  creditors, 
and  asked  and  obtained  an  extension.  Ultimately,  after  five  years 
of  unremitting  industry  and  close  economy,  every  indebtedness, 
principal  and  interest,  was  paid  to  the  last  farthing. 

The  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  continued  to  increase  in  size, 


474  MATTHIAS    W.     BALDWIN. 

until  they  now  occupy  an  area  of  nine  acres  in  all,  of  which  be- 
tween six  and  seven  acres  are  under  roof.  These  works,  in  the 
year  1880,  turned  out  the  enormous  number  of  517  finished  loco- 
motives. Orders  are  constantly  received  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  As  an  evidence  of  the  productive  capacity  of  this  estab- 
lishment, the  following  extract  from  the  "  History  of  the  Baldwin 
Locomotive  Works  "  is  of  interest :  "  Forty  heavy  '  Mogul '  loco- 
motives (nineteen  by  twenty-four  cylinder,  driving-wheels  four  and 
one-half  feet  in  diameter)  were  constructed  early  in  1878  for  two 
Russian  railways  (the  Kowisk  Charkof  Azof,  and  the  Orel  Griazi). 
The  definite  order  for  these  locomotives  was  only  received  on  the 
1 6th  of  December,  1877,  and  as  all  were  required  to  be  delivered 
in  Russia  by  the  following  May,  especial  despatch  was  necessary. 
The  working  force  was  increased  from  1,100  to  2,300  men  in  about 
two  weeks.  The  first  of  the  forty  was  erected,  and  tried  under 
steam  on  January  5th,  three  weeks  after  the  receipt  of  the  order, 
and  was  finished,  ready  to  dismantle  and  pack  for  shipment,  one 
week  later. 

"The  last  engine  of  this  order  was  completed  February  i3th. 
The  forty  engines  were  thus  constructed  in  about  eight  weeks, 
besides  twenty-eight  additional  engines  on  other  orders,  which 
were  constructed  wholly  or  partially,  and  shipped  during  the  same 
period." 

Mr.  Baldwin  lived  to  enjoy  a  full  measure  of  success  and  pros- 
perity, which  he  had  so  richly  earned.  His  death  took  place  in 
Philadelphia,  September  7th,  1866.  His  wife  and  three  daughters 
survived  him.  Every  year  he  expended  many  thousands  of  dollars 
in  private  charities.  Two  churches  were  built  by  him  entirely  at 
his  own  cost,  and  many  others  were  materially  aided  by  his  liberal 
donations.  In  all  missionary  enterprises  and  efforts  at  church 
extension,  he  was  a  most  zealous  worker,  and  his  contributions 
for  the  furtherance  of  such  objects  were  munificent.  In  Philadel- 
phia his  memory  will  long  be  cherished  as  a  consistent  Christian,  a 
stainless  citizen,  and  an  honest  man. 


NATHANIEL  THAYER,  A.  M. 

WHO  in  Boston  has  not  heard  of  the  great  banking  firm  of  John 
E.  Thayer  &  Brother  ?  A  firm  which  had  endured  for  nearly  half 
a  century,  and  of  which  Nathaniel  was  the  junior  partner.  To 
read  the  biographical  sketches  of  successful  men,  readers  must  al- 
most- be  forced  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  are  no  boys 
born  in  the  great  cities,  so  almost  uniformly  is  the  native  home  of 
the  millionaire  discovered  to  be  some  unimportant  little  country 
town,  or  a  farm  beyond  the  boundary  of  paved  streets.  Nathaniel 
Thayer  was  no  exception  to  this  general  rule.  He  was  born  in 
Lancaster,  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts,  September  iith, 
1808,  where  his  father,  Rev.  Dr.  Nathaniel  Thayer,  had  officiated 
as  a  clergyman  for  fifty  years.  Lancaster  is  situated  in  the  beau- 
tiful valley  of  the  Nashua,  and  like  most  New  England  towns  had 
within  its  borders  the  means  of  giving  a  good  education  to  all  its 
sons ;  and  we  do  not  learn  that  Nathaniel  went  outside  of  his 
native  place  for  instruction.  But  he  belonged  to  a  family  of 
scholars,  and  of  ministers,  though  he  did  not  seek  a  learned  pro- 
fession for  himself.  His  grandfather  on  the  paternal  side  had 
graduated  at  Harvard  in  1753,  and  subsequently  studied  for  the 
ministry,  as  did  his  father ;  and  on  the  mother's  side  he  was  a 
direct  descendant  of  the  famous  non-conformist,  Rev.  John  Cotton, 
who  fled  in  1633  from  the  High  Commission  Court  established  by 
Laud,  reaching  Boston  on  September  4th  of  that  year.  Hence,  on 
both  branches  of  the  family  tree  are  found  teachers  of  the  people ; 
men  held  in  such  high  esteem  and  respect  as  is  unknown  at  this 
day  even  of  the  highest  in  the  land.  It  is  said  of  the  elder  Thayer 
that  he  was  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  that  class  of  country 
ministers  whose  serious  gravity  and  serenity  added  to  them  an 

(475) 


,-,£  NATHANIEL     THAYER,    A.     M. 

aspect  of  superior  dignity,  which  was  certainly  enhanced  b>  but 
did  not  depend  upon  their  profession. 

Among  the  classmates  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thayer  were  such  men 
as  Buckminster,  Channing,  Kirkland,  Freeman,  Bancroft,  and 
Thatcher,  and  the  young  Nathaniel  must  often  have  had  the  priv- 
ileo-e  of  listening  to  the  conversation  of  these  men,  which,  to  an 
intelligent  youth,  is  equal  to  several  sessions  of  academical  in- 
struction. Starting  from  such  a  home,  we  have  a  right  to  expect 
t.hat  young  Thayer,  if  he  did  not  devote  himself  to  letters,  would 
at  least  be  interested  in  the  support  of  liberal  education ;  and  this 
expectation,  as  we  shall  see,  was  amply  fulfilled. 

For  many  years,  in  addition  to  the  banking  business,  the  firm 
of  John  E.  Thayer  &  Brother  was  engaged  in  the  forwarding  of 
railroad  interests,  part^ularly  in  the  West.  Though  often  solicited 
to  make  investments  in  some  of  the  many  manufacturing  interests 
with  which  Massachusetts  abounds,  Mr.  Thayer  invariably  declined, 
conceiving  that  there  was  ample  space  and  verge  enough  in  the 
lines  which  the  firm  had  chosen  to  expend  all  his  energies,  and  it 
is  certainly  true  that  larger  fortunes  have  been  made  in  this  coun- 
try in  banking  and  railroading  than  in  any  other  direction. 

Nearly  from  the  commencement  of  the  period  when  he  became 
able  to  give  liberally,  Mr.  Thayer  selected  Harvard  University  as 
the  most  favored  recipient  of  his  bounty.  In  this  his  elder  brother 
and  partner,  John  Elliot,  had  been  before  him :  so  long  ago  as 
1855  the  latter  made  a  will,  giving  to  Harvard  the  sum  of  $50,000, 
at  the  same  time  explaining  that  he  "  had  intended  to  have  given 
to  the  University  a  very  large  sum,"  but  that  "  perceiving  a  con- 
stant disposition  among  politicians  and,  certain  sectarians  to  get 
possession  of  the  same,"  he  had  no  doubt  they  would  greatly  in- 
jure it.  Whether  Mr.  John  Thayer  recovered  his  faith  in  Har- 
vard sufficiently  to  finally  give  a  larger  sum  is  not  necessary  to 
inquire  into  here,  but  it  is  certain  that  Nathaniel  never  wavered 
in  his  love  for  the  old  University,  of  which  nearly  all  his  ancestral 
relatives  were  alumni ;  and  how  delighted  would  the  old  clergy- 


NATHANIEL    THAYER,    A.    M.  477 

man  have  been  could  he  have  foreseen  how  his  name  would  have 
been  honored  by  his  namesake  in  his  alma  mater,  for  the  late 
Nathaniel  Thayer  was  the  most  liberal  donor  to  it  since  the  days 
of  its  founder,  John  Harvard,  and  in  actual  money  gave  more  than 
he.  Nor  did  Mr.  Thayer  wait  till  he  was  in  his  grave,  but  dis- 
tributed these  gifts  along  through  the  years  at  intervals,  meeting' 
felt  needs,  and  enjoying  the  sight  of  the  practical  benefit  of  these 
gifts ;  and  even  long  before  the  large  special  endowments  were 
bestowed,  his  generosity  had  been  abundantly  exercised  in  assist- 
ing individual  students  to  commence  or  continue  their  studies,  who 
would  otherwise  have  been  unable  to  do  so. 

The  first  large  gift  was  put  into  the  shape  of  a  memorial  build- 
ing, called  "Thayer  Hall,"  which  was  erected  in  1870,  and  was  in- 
tended to  commemorate  both  his  father,  Rev.  Nathaniel  Thayer, 
D.D.,  and  his  brother,  John  Elliot  Thayer.  The  cost  was  $100,000. 

In  1865  a  great  lack  of  accommodation  was  felt  for  such  stu- 
dents as  wished  to  live  "  in  commons."  At  this  period  Dr.  Pea- 
body  was  president  of  the  college,  and  he  had  caused  temporary 
arrangements  to  be  made  for  some  of  these  to  use  a  part  of  the 
Thayer  Memorial  Hall  as  a  dining-room,  but  this  structure  not 
having  been  built  for  any  such  purpose,  was  not  fitted  for  it,  and 
much  inconvenience  ensued.  Mr.  Thayer  learning  of  this  need, 
bought  a  disused  station  of  the  Fitchburg  Railroad,  in  Cambridge, 
contiguous  to  the  college-grounds,  enlarged  it,  and  fitted  it  up  for 
a  dining-hall,  and  it  is  now  known  as  Thayer  Commons  Hall. 
This  hall  was  used  for  the  purpose  intended  for  ten  years,  from 
1865-75,  when  the  new  Memorial  Hall,  dedicated  to  the  memory 
of  the  patriotic  dead,  was  opened,  this  being  the  finest  hall  of  the 
kind  either  in  this  country  or  in  Europe.  The  Thayer  Commons 
Hall  had  in  the  meantime  done  good  work  ;  meals  being  furnished 
there  to  the  students  at  the  mere  cost  of  the  materials  and  their 
preparation,  thus  enabling  many  young  men  to  complete  a  college 
course  who  could  not  have  borne  the  expense  of  private  tables. 
Mr.  Thayer  had  spent  $8,000  in  fitting  this  up. 


Ajg  NATHANIEL     THAYER,    A.     M. 

Fifteen  thousand  dollars  was  devoted  by  Mr.  Thayer  to  the 
erection  of  the  "  Grey  Herbarium*"  This  was  named  in  compli- 
ment to  the  eminent  Professor  of  Botany  at  Harvard,  and  was  a 
structure  erected  in  1874,  on  the  grounds  of  the  Botanic  Garden, 
to  secure  a  fire-proof  building  for  the  large  collection  of  specimens 
arranged  and  classified  by  his  friend  Grey,  in  the  interest  of  the 
University.  It  was  one  of  the  happiest  days  of  the  great  botanist's 
life,  when  he  saw  the  work  of  a  lifetime  not  only  safely  housed,  but 
with  space  enough  to  have  everything  displayed  to  the  best  advan- 
tage for  the  students  of  that  useful  and  interesting  science. 

But  perhaps  even  this  donation  yields  in  general  interest  to  the 
magnificent  series  of  sums  which  Mr.  Thayer  devoted  to  scientific 
purposes  through  the  agency  of  the  late  Professor  Louis  Agassiz. 
In  1865  Professor  Agassiz  found  it  necessary  for  his  health  to  take 
a  somewhat  lengthy  vacation,  and  various  projects  were  consid- 
ered as  to  where  some  six  or  eight  months  should  be  spent. 
Europe  was  thought  too  exciting  for  one  seeking  mental  rest,  and 
there  was  not  the  same  opening  for  practical  scientific  work,  there 
being  too  many  competitors  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic ; 
finally  South  America  was  fixed  upon,  as  affording  scenes  of  health- 
ful out-door  life  and  a  vast  and  novel  field  for  scientific  research  ; 
but  this,  however,  Professor  Agassiz  felt  must  be  very  limited  if  he 
went  alone.  Thinking  this  matter  over,  he  happened  to  meet  Mr. 
Thayer,  who  congratulated  him  in  a  very  cordial  way  on  his  pros- 
pective trip.  The  great  scientist  knew  Mr.  Thayer  as  one  of  the 
most  princely  givers  in  New  England,  but  he  could  not  think  of 
asking  him  to  father  an  expedition  of  the  magnitude  which  his 
day-dreams  had  planned  out;  but  before  he  had  time  even  to  rally 
his  thoughts  on  the  subject,  Mr.  Thayer  relieved  him  by  the  re- 
mark: "You  wish,  of  course,  to  give  this  journey  a  scientific  char- 
acter ;  take  six  assistants  with  you,  and  I  will  be  responsible  for  all 
their  expenses,  personal  and  scientific."  Professor  Agassiz  says 
that  "  this  was  so  simply  said,  and  seemed  to  me  so  great  a  boon, 
that  at  first  I  hardly  believed  that  I  had  heard  him  rightly;  but  in 


NATHANIEL    THAYER,    A.    M.  479 

the  end  I  had  cause  to  see  in  how  large  and  liberal  a  sense  he 
proffered  his  support  to  the  expedition,  which,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  cost  much  more  than  was  estimated.  Not  only  did  he  pro- 
vide most  liberally  for  my  assistants,  but  until  the  last  specimen 
was  stored  in  the  museum,  he  continued  to  advance  whatever 
sums  were  needed." 

Although  this  "  Thayer  Expedition,"  as  it  was  called  in  Boston, 
was  apparently  a  personal  gift  and  favor  to  Professor  Agassiz,  it 
was  really  in  the  service  of  Harvard,  for  all  the  fruits  of  it  were  to 
be  deposited  there,  and,  as  Mr.  Thayer  jocosely  complained,  "the 
cost  of  the  alcohol  was  enormous,  for  the  Professor  had  emptied 
the  ocean  of  fishes,  and  consequently  needed  an  ocean  of  alcohol 
in  which  to  preserve  them  ! "  The  members  of  the  expedition  de- 
voted the  larger  portion  of  the  time  employed  in  exploration  of 
rne  Amazon  and  its  borders ;  a  geologist,  ornithologist,  conchol- 
ogist,  pnotographer  and  others,  following  up  their  several 
branches  of  work  with  the  same  zeal  with  which  their  leader  de- 
voted himself  to  fishes  ;  several  volunteers  joined  this  party,  among 
whom  was  Mr.  S.  V.  R.  Thayer;'  Mrs.  Agassiz  was  also  of  the 
number;  and  making  daily  record  of  all  the  interesting  events 
which  occurred,  scientific  and  otherwise,  the  result  was  a  book  of 
over  five  hundred  pages,  which  served  to  give  an  outline,  in  popu- 
lar form,  of  what  the  expedition  accomplished.  For  this  book 
Professor  Agassiz  wrote  a  preface,  in  which  he  states  the  origin 
of  the  journey  and  Mr.  Thayer's  munificent  part  in  it.  This  book 
is  also  dedicated  to  him  in  the  following  words  (after  the  title,  "A 
Journey  in  Brazil ") :  "  To  Mr.  Nathaniel  Thayer,  the  friend  who 
made  it  possible  to  give  this  journey  the  character  of  a  scientific 
expedition,  the  present  volume  is  gratefully  inscribed.  Louis 
AGAS'SIZ."  The  museum  at  Cambridge  can  now  boast  the  finest 
collection  of  South  American  fishes  of  any  college  in  the  world. 

Though  Harvard  took  precedence  in  Mr.  Thayer's  thoughtful 
beneficence,  his  gifts  were  not  limited  to  Cambridge  ;  hardly  a  good 
or  charitable  object  could  be  mentioned  in  Boston  which  has  not 


480  NATHANIEL    THAYER,    A.     M. 

the  name  of  Nathaniel  Thayer  among  its  contributors.  Belonging 
to  a  good  old  stock  of  worthy  ancestors,  he  was  naturally  willing 
to  have  their  several  records  preserved ;  hence  we  find  him  an  ac- 
tive life-member  of  the  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Society,  an  association  which  has  rendered  essential  service  to 
hundreds  of  historical  students.  Mr.  Thayer  married  early  in  life 
Miss  Cornelia  Van  Rensselaer,  of  Albany,  New  York,  from  which 
marriage  there  were  seven  children.  Previous  to  his  death,  on 
the  yth  of  March,  1883,  Mr.  Thayer  had  suffered  for  months  with 
an  incurable  disease,  but  was  at  last  released  by  an  attack  of  apo- 
plexy. His  widow  and  six  children  survive  him.  By  his  will  he 
disposed  of  property  valued  at  $16,000,000,  most  of  which  was 
given  to  relatives  and  friends.  The  Children's  Hospital  of  Boston 
received  $10,000;  the  Boston  Provident  Association  a  like  amount, 
and  the  sum  of  $30,000  was  given  to  the  Massachusetts  General 
Hospital. 


SAMUEL    COLT. 

SAMUEL  COLT  was  one  of  the  few  fortunate  inventors  who  was 
not  compelled  to  fight  his  way  against  poverty  and  competing 
rivals,  and  though  he  lived  to  only  middle  age,  his  life  might  be 
considered  eminently  successful.  He  was  not  a  "model  boy;"  he 
was  restless,  disliked  study,  and  his  eminently  respectable  father, 
who  was  a  manufacturer  of  cotton  and  woollen  goods,  scarcely 
knew  what  to  do  with  him.  Samuel  was  born  on  the  igth  of  July, 
1814,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  by  the  time  he  was  ten  years  old 
he  had  exhibited  such  a  predilection  for  the  factory  over  the  school- 
room, that  his  father  allowed  him  to  go  to  work,  and  here  he  re- 
mained for  three  years,  except  now  and  then  working  on  a  farm- 
When  he  was  thirteen  his  father,  unwilling  that  he  should  grow 
up  without  any  education,  sent  him  to  boarding-school  at  Amherst, 
Massachusetts ;  but  all  would  not  do ;  he  ran  away  from  school, 
and  shipped  for  a  voyage  to  the  East  Indies  on  the  "  Coroo."  It 
was  while  aboard  of  this  vessel  that  he  invented  his  famous  re- 
volver, not  with  all  its  latest  improvements,  but  really  the  germ 
of  "  Colt's  revolver,"  whittling  the  model  out  of  wood.  When  he 
returned  home  he  was  quite  willing  to  remain  there,  after  his  ocean 
experiences,  and  entered  the  chemical  department  of  his  father's 
factory,  at  Ware,  Massachusetts,  then  in  charge  of  an  able  chemist 
named  W.  T.  Smith,  to  learn  its  mysteries.  For  this  study  he  had 
a  fancy,  and  progressed  rapidly,  appearing  quite  content.  He 
was  a  rather  precociously  developed  youth,  and  when  only  eigh- 
teen might  easily  have  passed  for  twenty-two  ;  taking  advantage 
of  this  full-grown  adult  appearance,  he  started  off  on  a  lecturing 
tour,  under  the  name  of  Dr.  Coult,  and  lectured  successfully  on 
chemistry,  which  he  illustrated  with  interesting  experiments, 
31  (480 


482  SAMUEL    COLT. 

through  the  United  States  and  Canada ;  returning  home  at  the 
end  of  two  years  with  quite  a  handsome  sum  as  the  result. 

The  money  made  during  this  extended  trip  was  devoted  to  the 
perfecting  of  his  pistol,  on  which  he  applied  for  and  obtained  a 
patent  in  1835.  He  also  procured  patents  in  France  and  England. 
His  object  now  was  to  effect  the  organization  of  a  company,  to  be 
called  the  "  Patent  Arms  Company,"  which  he  was  able  to  accom- 
plish through  the  help  of  some  New  York  capitalists,  with  a  cash 
basis  of  $300,000,  a  factory  being  established  at  Paterson,  New 
Jersey.  Efforts  were  at  once  made  to  induce  the  government  to 
use  them  in  the  army,  but  red-tape  and  the  prejudice  of  the  old 
army  officers  prevented  the  adoption  of  this  improved  arm  until 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Seminole  war  in  Florida,  when  a  regiment 
under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Harvey  was  armed  with  them.  Its  suc- 
cess was  great,  and  the  service  it  had  rendered  admitted,  but  after 
.the  close  of  the  war,  the  demand  for  the  revolver  fell  off  to  such 
an  extent  that  in  1842  the  Patent  Arms  Company  suspended  work 
and  closed  out  the  concern.  That  they  had  carried  no  dead  stock 
is  certain,  for  when  the  Mexican  war  broke  out  there  was  not  a 
"  Colt's  revolver  "  to  be  had. 

General  Taylor,  who  had  seen  the  execution  these  arms  did  in 
Florida,  wished  to  arm  his  Texan  rangers  with  them,  and  sent  to 
Colt  for  a  supply,  but  he  had  not  even  one  left  as  a  model  to  work 
by ;  and  when  the  government  added  an  order  for  i  ,000,  he  had 
to  set  to  work  to  make  a  new  model,  in  which  process  he  added 
some  improvements,  which  their  extensive  use  had  suggested.  At 
the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  the  opening  up  of  the  gold  regions 
in  California,  and  the  immense  exodus  from  the  East  to  the  West, 
kept  up  the  demand  for  the  revolvers,  and  Mr.  Colt  prepared  for 
a  permanent  business.  In  1851  he  commenced  the  erection  of  an 
armory  at  Hartford,  which  he  meant  should  be  the  largest  and 
most  complete  in  the  world.  This  immense  stone  structure  was 
built  on  thoroughly  drained  meadow-land,  just  south  of  the  Mill 
river;  the  dike  which  protected  it  was  two  miles  long,  150  feet 


SAMUEL    COLT.  483 

wide  at  the  base,  from  30  to  60  feet  wide  at  the  top,  and  25  feet 
high.  The  armory  consisted  of  three  buildings,  in  the  form  of  a 
letter  H.  The  front  was  500  by  60  feet,  the  rear  500  by  40,  the 
connecting  central  building  was  250  by  50  feet,  the  main  building 
three  stories  high,  with  offices,  etc.,  attached.  On  the  outbreak 
of  the  civil  war  these  enormous  buildings  were  duplicated,  so 
greatly,  had  the  demand  for  these  pistols  increased.  In  the  first 
year  of  the  war,  this  factory  turned  out  1 20,000.  The  machinery 
for  making  these  arms  is  also  constructed  on  the  ground. 

It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  Colonel  Colt,  that  while  he  was 
rapidly  accumulating  wealth  for  himself,  he  did  not  forget  the 
welfare  of  his  workmen.  He  constructed  for  them  neat,  conve- 
nient residences,  built  for  them  a  public  hall,  in  which  was  a  good 
library,  instituted  courses  of  lectures,  organized  a  band  of  musicians 
from  among  his  employes,  uniformed  them  at  his  own  expense, 
and  supplied  them  with  a  splendid  set  of  instruments ;  formed  a 
military  company  among  the  men,  and  found  the  uniforms  for  these 
also.  In  1855  Colonel  Colt  married  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Jarvis,  of  Portland,  Connecticut.  He  built  a  beautiful  mansion  in 
Hartford  for  his  residence,  one  of  the  handsomest  in  the  city.  He 
made  several  visits  to  Europe,  and  in  1856,  while  in  Russia,  was 
present  by  invitation  at  the  coronation  of  Alexander  II.  Nearly 
all  the  royal  heads  of  Europe  presented  him  with  decorations, 
orders  of  merit,  medals,  or  other  souvenirs,  in  recognition  of  the 
value  of  his  inventions,  which  included,  besides  the  revolver,  a  sub- 
marine battery  for  harbor  defence,  and  a  submarine  telegraph 
cable,  which  was  a  prophecy  and  precursor  of  the  great  Atlantic 
cable.  He  died  at  his  residence  in  Hartford  on  the  loth  of  Janu- 
ary, 1862,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-eight,  leaving  a  large  fortune. 


ROBERT   BONNER. 

Two  classes  of  people  in  the  United  States  take  a  permanent 
interest  in  Robert  Bonner — those  who  love  a  good  horse,  and 
those  who  enjoy  an  exciting  story  "to  be  continued"  in  the  Ledger. 
Though  born  abroad,  in  the  vicinity  of  Londonderry,  Ireland,  April 
28,  1824,  he  came  to  this  country  in  his  fifteenth  year  early  enough 
to  become  thoroughly  Americanized.  He  had  then  an  uncle  in  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  a  prosperous,  even  wealthy  farmer ;  in  fact,  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  he  owned  all  the  buildings  on  one  entire 
street.  Young  Robert  was  described  at  this  time  as  having  "  a 
big  head,  with  two  flashing  hazel  eyes,  looking  out  from  under  a 
great  white  solid  dome  of  a  forehead."  From  his  good  solid  sense 
he  had  before  leaving  home  acquired  the  nickname  of  "  the  old 
man."  Quite  early  he  developed  a  fancy  for  the  printer's  craft, 
and  in  accordance  with  his  own  request  was  entered  in  the  office 
of  the  Hartford  Co2irant  to  learn  the  compositor's  art.  Prede- 
termined to  become  a  good  workman,  he  worked  with  zeal  at  the 
case,  and  very  soon  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  careful 
and  swift  type-setter.  It  is  related  of  him,  that  while  still  young  at 
the  business,  when  there  was  great  pressure  in  the  office  to  get 
the  President's  Message  in  type  before  a  rival  office,  that  Robert 
Bonner  set  up  his  copy  at  the  rate  of  1,700  ems  an  hour,  a  feat 
then  pronounced  unparalleled,  but  which  we  believe  has  since  been 
attained  by  others. 

When  about  twenty  years  of  age,  Mr.  Bonner  decided  to  try  his 
fortunes  in  New  York ;  his  reputation  as  a  good  compositor  had 
preceded  him,  and  he  found  no  difficulty  in  getting  a  position. 
Somewhat  curiously  his  first  engagement  in  the  city  was  upon  an 
organ  of  the  "  Native  American  "  party,  called  the  American  Re- 
(484) 


ROBERT    BCNNER. 


ROBERT     BONNER.  485 

publican,  which  was  started  in  1844.  This  paper,  like  the  party  it 
represented,  was  short-lived,  and  when  it  suspended  publication 
Mr.  Bonner  sought  and  found  employment  in  the  office  of  Morris 
&  Willis,  who  were  then  publishing  the  Evening  Mirror,  which 
was  the  predecessor  of  the  Home  Journal.  While  in  this  office 
Mr.  Bonner  developed  a  new  quality  as  a  printer ;  the  getting  up 
of  advertisements  was  intrusted  to  him,  and  in  this  department 
there  being  opportunity  for  the  display  of  taste,  he  succeeded  in 
producing  such  neat  and  attractive  "  ads,"  that  the  improved  ap- 
pearance of  the  Mirror  was  generally  remarked.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  trade  discovered  who  the  young  typo  was  who  set  up 
these  advertisements,  and  Mr.  Bonner  very  soon  received  an  in- 
vitation to  take  a  situation  on  the  Merchant's  Ledger.  This  paper 
ultimately  failed,  and  Mr.  Bonner  bought  out  the  stock,  and  what 
remained  of  "good-will"  in  the  paper.  This  "good-will,"  how- 
ever, was  not  very  pronounced  on  the  part  of  the  retiring  pro- 
prietors, for  they  had  become  jealous  of  Mr.  Bonner's  growing 
influence,  and  though  they  had  opened  their  editorial  columns  to 
articles  from  his  pen,  the  very  favor  with  which  these  were  re- 
ceived annoyed  them.  It  was  a  mutual  relief  when  they  parted. 

Mr.  Bonner  had  never  intended  to  remain  a  compositor  all  his 
days ;  even  in  his  boyhood  in  the  office  in  Hartford  he  had  dreams 
of  one  day  owning  a  paper  himself,  and  now  at  last  the  dream  was 
realized — he  had  an  office  and  a  paper.  True,  neither  were  worth 
much  ;  the  Merchant's  Ledger  had  struggled  through  a  miserable 
existence,  and  was  really  moribund  when  he  first  entered  the  office; 
the  new  life  which  he  infused  into  it  kept  the  breath  of  life  in  it  a  few 
months  longer  than  it  would  otherwise  have  done,  but  now  it  must 
give  up  the  ghost.  Mr.  Bonner  did  not  intend  to  continue  the 
paper  which  he  had  bought  in  its  then  shape;  he  would  drop  the 
first  half  of  the  name,  and  with  the  latter  take  a  new  departure. 
His  idea  was  to  produce  a  literary  paper.  Fortunately  for  him, 
just  at  this  time  a  new  aspirant  for  popular  favor  appeared  before 
the  public  in  the  shape  of  a  sharp,  sarcastic  writer,  who  had  just 


486  f  ROBERT    BONNER. 

published  a  sort  of  autobiographical  novel  called  "  Ruth  Hall,"  the 
author  of  which  was  a  sister  of  the  popular  editor  of  the  Home 
Journal,  N.  P.  Willis,  and  who  afterwards  became  better  known 
as  "Fanny  Fern."  Here  was  the  fresh  pen,  with  unhackneyed 
ideas,  devoid  of  conventionalities,  for  which  Mr.  Bonner  had  been 
looking.  Her  sudden  popularity  had  arisen  in  great  measure 
from  the  interest  which  was  felt  in  her  brother,  Mr.  Willis ;  he  had 
been  for  years  the  idolized  pet  of  New  York  dilettanti  society,  and 
this  sudden  attack  on  him  by  one  of  his  own  kin,  who  represented 
him  as  a  vain,  mean,  and  wholly  artificial  creature,  gave  a  spurious 
interest  to  "  Ruth  Hall,"  which  its  mediocre  literary  merit  would 
never  have  obtained  for  it.  But  all  the  same,  it  answered  Mr. 
Bonner's  purpose.  He  wrote  to  the  author,  and  offered  her  an 
unheard-of  sum  to  write  a  story  for  the  Ledger.  At  first  refusing, 
and  then  coquetting  with  this  offer  for  some  time, "  Fanny  Fern," 
formerly  Miss  Willis,  adopting  this  alliterative  name  as  a  nom  de 
plume,  consented.  Mr.  Bonner  now  entered  upon  a  most  ex- 
traordinary course  of  advertising.  He  had,  on  receipt  of  the  story 
written  by  "Fanny  Fern,"  sent  her  a  check  for  $1,000,  a  sum  per- 
fectly unprecedented  for  that  kind  of  work.  But  it  was  not  for 
her  benefit  particularly  that  he  indulged  in  this  extravagance,  but 
for  his  own ;  he  turned  the  payment  to  account  by  advertising  the 
fact.  He  double-leaded  the  story  (which  was  really  of  no  peculiar 
excellence),  and  wrote  above  it  that  he  had  "  paid  a  thousand  dol- 
lars "  for  it,  and  he  then  hired  whole  columns  in  the  daily  and. 
Sunday  papers,  occupied  with  two  or  three  phrases,  such  as 
"'Fanny  Fern'  writes  for  the  Ledger!"  "Buy  the  New  York 
Ledger!"'  "Read  the  thousand-dollar  story  in  the  Ledger!"  etc. 
This  mode  of  advertising  was  then  absolutely  new,  and  even 
eclipsed  in  novelty  and  audacity  the  "great  showman,"  P.  T. 
Barnum's,  advertisements.  But  while  people  read  and  wondered, 
many  also  criticised  this  sensational  style  of  advertising  as  vulgar, 
and  concluded  that  the  paper  itself  could  not  be  of  a  refined  order. 
Quick  to  interpret  the  feeling  of  the  community,  and  determined 


ROBERT    BONNER.  487 

that  his  paper  should  not  suffer  under  the  stigma  of  vulgarity,  Mr. 
Bonner  took  a  most  extraordinary  and  audacious  course  to  put 
his  Ledger  upon  an  unquestioned  plane  of  respectability.  One 
day  the  reading  public  were  astonished  upon  opening  their  daily 
Heralds  and  other  papers  to  see  spread  over  whole  pages  the 
words,  "Buy  Harpers  Weekly!"  "Buy  Harpers  Weekly!" 
(The  Weekly  had  then  just  started.)  As  Harper  Brothers  had 
never  indulged  in  any  other  than  modest  advertising,  people 
knew  not  what  to  think  of  this  sudden  outbreak,  but  attributed  it 
to  the  rivalry  of  the  Ledger,  and  many  never  did  learn  the  real 
fact  that  the  Messrs.  Harpers  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it, 
but  that  all  of  this  sensational  advertising  of  Harper  s  Weekly  had 
been  ordered  and  was  paid  for  by  Robert  Bonner,  at  a  cost  of 
many  thousand  dollars,  simply  to  familiarize  people  with  the  idea 
that  respectable  firms  advertised  in  the  same  way  as  did  the 
Ledger. 

Another  novel  and  expensive  mode  of  advertising  was  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Bonner,  though  it  has  since  been  extensively  imi- 
tated ;  this  was  to  publish  whole  chapters  of  an  exciting  story  in 
the  daily  papers,  at  an  enormous  expense,  concluding  at  some 
critical  point,  with  the  words  at  the  end,  "  To  be  continued  in  the 
New  York  Ledger!" 

Mr.  Bonner  was  destined  to  meet  with  a  good  deal  of  sharp 
criticism  before  his  paper  was  fairly  established  in  the  good-will 
of  the  self-elected  conservators  of  public  morals.  Having  disposed 
of  the  respectability  question,  by  placing  the  Harpers  in  the  same 
category  with  himself,  his  paper  was  next  attacked  with  the  cry  of 
"  cheap  literature,"  "  silly  love  stories,"  "  not  worth  reading,"  etc. 
Mr.  Bonner  was  equal  to  this  assault  also,  and  gave  his  enemies 
their  final  quietus  on  this  point  by  engaging  as  writers  for  the 
Ledger  some  of  the  best  talent  in  the  country,  with  some  of  the 
most  illustrious  names.  To  secure  the  aid  of  these  persons  re- 
quired great  tact  and  shrewdness  on  the  part  of  the  proprietor  of 
the  Ledger ;  as,  for  instance,  at  that  time  Edward  Everett,  of 


488  ROBERT    BONNER. 

Boston,  stood  as  the  synonym  in  New  England  for  all  that  was  re- 
fined in  literature  and  in  social  life ;  he  was  a  diplomat  of  the  old 
school,  and  had  represented  the  United  States  at  the  Court  of  St. 
James.  If  he  could  be  induced  to  write  for  the  Ledger,  there  was 
no  one  in  the  United  States  who  could  refuse  on  the  ground  that 
the  Ledger  was  not  a  fitting  vehicle  for  them  in  which  to  express 
their  exalted  ideas.  But  how  induce  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett  to 
write  for  the  Ledger — a  mere  story  paper  ?  Mr.  Bonner  was  fer- 
tile in  expedients.  Just  then  there  was  a  flurry  of  excitement 
over  the  desecration,  by  neglect,  of  the  home  and  tomb  of 
Washington.  An  association  of  ladies  had  been  formed,  who  had 
charged  themselves  with  the  duty  of  raising  funds  for  the  purchase 
and  preservation  of  Mount  Vernon.  Mr.  Everett  had  interested 
himself  in  this  movement,  and  had  even  lectured  in  Boston  and 
some  other  places  in  aid  of  the  association.  Mr.  Bonner  knew 
that  he  would  not  write  for  the  Ledger  from  any  ordinary  personal 
consideration ;  but  he  proposed  to  him  to  write  a  series  of  articles 
for  the  Ledger  on  the  subject  of  Mount  Vernon,  offering  to  give  in 
return  $10,000  to  the  Ladies'  Mount  Vernon  Association;  the  offer 
was  accepted,  and  the  Vernon  papers  duly  appeared  in  the  Ledger, 
signed  with  the  full  name  of  Edward  Everett.  His  next  recruit  as 
a  contributor  was  no  less  a  person  than  George  Bancroft,  the  his- 
torian, after  which  surprise  was  thought  to  be  impossible  over  any- 
thing which  Mr.  Bonner  might  achieve ;  but  there  were  wonder- 
shocks  in  store  yet  for  the  readers  of  the  Ledger.  Before  long 
the  leading  editors  of  the  daily  press  were,  by  some  occult  means, 
induced  to  contribute  each  a  series  of  articles ;  James  Gordon 
Bennett,  Horace  Greeley  and  Henry  J.  Raymond  illuminated  the 
columns  of  the  Ledger,  and  what  could  the  fault-finders  of  the 
lesser  prints  say  after  that  ?  Why,  they  said  that,  in  spite  of  the 
great  names  which  had  appeared,  the  greater  part  of  the  paper 
was  given  up  to  light  reading,  "  not  fit  for  young  people  to 
peruse."  Mr.  Bonner' s  answer  to  this  was  the  engagement  of 
articles  from  the  several  presidents  of  the  twelve  leading  colleges 


ROBERT    BONNER.  489 

in  the  United  States- — as  much  as  to  say,  "  Do  you  think  that 
gentlemen  like  these  'grave  and  reverend  seigniors'  would  write 
for  a  frivolous  paper  ?  " 

But  his  great  coup  deforce  remained.  He  had  silenced  all  other 
classes  of  the  community;  there  remained  only  the  religious  fort- 
ress to  be  stormed.  He  looked  over  the  country  to  find  the  most 
popular  clergyman  in  the  United  States,  whom  he  meant  to  capture. 
He  had  not  far  to  look ;  not  much  more  than  a  mile,  in  a  straight 
line,  from  the  Ledger  office,  sat  a  man  on  Brooklyn  Heights  to 
whose  preaching  more  people  had  listened  with  admiration  and 
profit  than  to  any  other  on  the  continent.  Mr.  Bonner  went  to 
hear  this  popular  theological  orator ;  he  saw  that  he  had  a  keen 
intelligence,  knowledge  of  human  nature,  imagination,  humor  and 
pathos,  and  he  said  to  himself,  "  This  man  can  write  a  novel  as 
well  as  a  sermon."  He  made  up  his  mind ;  this  was  the  man  that 
could  cause  the  Ledger  to  be  admitted  into  every  Christian  house- 
hold in  the  land.  He  went  to  Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  said  to 
him,  "  Mr.  Beecher,  I  want  you  to  write  a  novel  for  the  Ledger" 
Mr.  Beecher  had,  in  the  course  of  his  varied  experience,  listened 
to  a  great  many  curious  propositions,  but  probably  he  was  never 
quite  so  much  astonished  at  any  proposal  as  this,  an  unheard-of 
thing,  to  ask-  a  clergyman  to  write  a  novel  for  a  weekly  story- 
paper  !  But  Mr.  Bonner  was  in  earnest,  and  he  offered  such  a 
wonderful  price — $20,000 — that  it  was  enough  to  make  a  saint  think 
twice  before  finally  declining.  Mr.  Beecher  thought  at  first  that 
he  could  not  do  it,  but  finally  consented,  and  very  soon  "  Norwood" 
appeared.  This  was  undoubtedly  the  best  paying  card  which  Mr. 
Bonner  had  played,  its  publication  bringing  thousands  of  subscrib- 
ers to  the  Ledger  and  extending  its  circulation  all  over  the  Union. 
Calumny  was  at  last  silenced,  active  opposition  died  away,  and  Mr. 
Bonner's  Ledger  went  on  sailing  over  prosperous  seas,  adding 
other  popular  contributors  as  time  went  on,  but  without  excite- 
ment, hurry  or  anxiety,  for  the  paper  was  at  that  time  its  own  best 
advertisement. 


490  ROBERT     BONNER. 

Mr.  Bonner's  hobby  outside  of  the  Ledger  office  is  a  fine  horse. 
Whatever  there  is  in  the  way  of  speed  and  style  he  buys,  if  it 
is  purchasable.  Attention  was  first  drawn  to  his  penchant  for  fast 
horses  by  his  purchase  of  Dexter ;  the  horse  was  in  a  western 
city  and  Mr.  Bonner  had  been  on  a  tour  as  far  as  Chicago.  On 
being  asked  what  he  had  seen  out  West  which  impressed  him 
most,  he  answered :  "  Two  things  :  Niagara  and  Dexter ;  I  could 
not  bring  home  the  first,  but  I  have  the  second."  The  first  seven 
fancy  horses  which  Mr.  Bonner  bought  cost  him  between  two  and 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars ;  these  were,  Dexter,  Lantern, 
Pocahontas,  Peerless,  Lady  Palmer,  Flatbush  Mare,  and  the  Auburn 
Horse.  Mr.  Bonner  is  not  a  betting  man,  and  buys  and  drives 
horses  only  for  his  own  pleasure,  and  sometimes  perhaps  to  exult 
over  a  would-be  rival.  In  fact,  there  was  considerable  emulation 
between  him  and  the  late  Commodore  Vanderbilt  in  this  respect, 
and  the  latter  felt  much  chagrined  when  Mr.  Bonner  became  the 
possessor  of  Dexter.  He  always  drives  his  own  horses,  and  can 
handle  the  reins  as  well  as  any  gentleman  driver  in  the  country; 
he  was  the  first  person  who  publicly  and  avowedly  devoted  him- 
self to  "  fast  horses  "  who  resolutely  declined  to  let  them  run  for 
money. 

In  general  appearance  Mr.  Bonner  resembles  the  late  Stephen 
A.  Douglas.  His  head  is  remarkably  large,  so  that  he  has  to  have 
his  hats  made  to  order ;  his  eyes  are  very  bright  and  expressive ; 
his  complexion  is  clear  and  fair ;  his  hair  of  a  reddish  brown.  He 
is  about  medium  height,  stout  and  straight.  He  neither  drinks 
wine  nor  uses  tobacco.  He  is  a  man  of  positive  opinions  and  does 
everything  by  rule.  He  comes  to  his  office  every  day  at  12  M.  ; 
remains  about  three  hours,  and  then  usually  rides  out  "  on  the 
road."  Mr.  Bonner  is  a  Presbyterian,  and  an  attendant  on  the 
ministry  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall,  for  the  benefit  of  whose  church 
he  gave  a  few  years  ago  $50,000.  Being  a  Presbyterian,  he  has 
been  a  liberal  donor  to  several  institutions  of  this  denomination 
— notably  to  Princeton  College. 


NICHOLAS   LONGWORTH. 

MR.  LONGWORTH  may  be  truly  considered  the  father  of  grape 
culture  in  the  United  States :  desultory  efforts  had  been  made 
here  and  there  with  partial  success  previous  to  his  time,  but  he  was 
the  first  large  operator  who  convinced  the  American  people  that 
some,  of  their  own  native  grapes  were  capable  of  producing  wine 
which  might  successfully  vie  with  the  imported  article.  Nicholas 
Longworth  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  in  Newark  in  1782. 
His  family  had  been  reduced  from  affluence  to  poverty  some  years 
before  his  birth,  and  after  passing  through  many  vicissitudes,  at- 
tempting to  learn  different  trades,  seeking  uselessly  a  southern 
climate  for  his  health,  he  returned  to  Newark  and  commenced  the 
study  of  law.  The  profession  was  already  crowded  in  the  Eastern 
States,  and  young  Longworth  had  the  prescience  to  perceive  that 
the  West,  even  then,  offered  a  better  opening  for  a  young  profes- 
sional man.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he,  therefore,  took 
his  departure  for  the  "  far  west,"  settling  in  the  young  settlement 
of  Cincinnati,  and  was  fortunate  in  obtaining  a  position  as  student 
and  clerk  with  the  late  Judge  Jacob  Burnet — a  very  able  jurist. 

The  first  case  which  young  Longworth  took  before  the  court,  on 
his  own  account,  was  the  defence  of  a  man  accused  of  horse-theft. 
He  won  the  case,  but  his  client  had  no  money  to  pay  him  ;  about 
all  this  man  possessed  was  two  second-hand  copper  stills ;  these 
were  in  the  keeping  of  a  person  named  Williams,  who  was  about 
building  a  distillery,  and  who  had  counted  upon  using  these  two 
stills — articles  which  were  not  very  easily  obtained  then  in  that 
region.  When,  therefore,  Mr.  Longworth  came  to  take  them 
away,  Mr.  Williams  was  much  embarrassed ;  still  he  did  not  want 
to  pay  out  the  cash  value  for  them,  so  he  offered  Mr.  Longworth 

(490 


492  NICHOLAS     LONGWORTH. 

in  place  of  them  thirty-three  acres  of  land,  barren  and  apparently 
worthless;  the  young  lawyer  wanted  money  badly,  but  he  had 
great  faith  in  the  future  of  Cincinnati,  and  finally  consented  to  take 
this  "  worthless  "  land,  which  a  few  years  later  was  cut  up  for  city 
lots,  lying  in  the  very  centre  of  the  business  interests  of  the  place. 
The  rapid  growth  of  Cincinnati  was  unprecedented  at  that  time, 
and  would  have  been  a  marvel  at  any  period,  and  lots  which  were 
originally  bought  for  ten  dollars,  after  the  lapse  of  two  decades, 
were  often  worth  $10,000. 

During  all  the  early  portion  of  his  life  in  Ohio  Mr.  Longworth 
kept  investing  in  real-estate,  adding  year  by  year  something  to  his 
rapidly  accumulating  property,  and  was  soon  recognized  as  the 
heaviest  real-estate  owner  in  the  city.  In  1850  his  taxes  were 
within  a  few  thousand  dollars  as  much  as  William  B.  Astor's.  In 
1819  he  had  retired  from  the  practice  of  the  law,  finding  the  care 
of  this  large  property  quite  sufficient  to  occupy  his  time.  But 
outside  of  money-making  he  had  a  hobby  which  his  great  wealth 
now  permitted  him  to  indulge.  He  had  long  believed  that  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio  was  eminently  adapted  to  the  culture  of  the 
vine.  In  his  first  experiments  he  had  relied  wholly  on  cuttings 
from  foreign  stock,  which  proved  altogether  unsatisfactory  ;  but  a 
friend  having  sent  some  cuttings  from  a  Catawba  vine  in  1828,  he 
found  to  his  surprise  that  this  native  grape  throve  wonderfully, 
though  its  natural  habitat  lies  farther  south  than  the  Ohio.  Its 
home  appears  to  be  in  North  Carolina,  in  Buncombe  county,  near 
the  sources  of  the  Catawba  river.  Having  found  at  last  the  right 
sort  of  grape  Mr.  Longworth  entered  upon  its  culture  with  enthu- 
siasm, and  on  a  large  scale ;  he  laid  out  a  large  vineyard  on  the 
gently  sloping  hill-sides  of  land  that  he  owned  about  four  miles 
above  the  city,  and  as  soon  as  his  vines  were  sufficiently  grown  he 
freely  gave  away  cuttings  to  the  Germans  and  others  in  the  vicin- 
ity who  cared  to  cultivate  even  one  vine,  and  he  subsequently 
added  largely  to  his  own  stock  for  manufacture,  by  buying  from 
these  people  all  the  grape  juice  they  were  willing  to  sell,  in  any 


NICHOLAS     LONGWORTH.  493 

quantity,  from  a  barrel  to  a  quart.  He  also  offered  a  prize  of 
$5,000  for  any  improvement  in  the  Catavvba  grape :  he  also  used 
the  Isabella  grape,  but  not  to  any  great  extent. 

Mr.  Longworth's  wine  cellars  were  excavated  on  Observatory 
Hill,  on  the  E.  Sixth  street  side ;  there  were  two  tiers  of  massive 
stone  vaults,  ninety  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  capable ' 
of  holding  three  hundred  thousand  bottles.  Above  this  great 
wine  reservoir,  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  was  erected  an  observa- 
tory, for  which  object  Mr.  Longworth  had  given  four  acres  of  land. 
Probably  no  individual  ever  did  as  much  to  advance  the  material 
interests  as  he.  He  was  an  eccentric  person — utterly  careless  in 
his  dress  and  appearance,  so  much  so  as  to  be  a  cause  of  vexation 
to  his  family — sometimes  going  about  in  precisely  the  same  kind  of  a 
conspicuous  but  cheap  coat  such  as  his  coachman  wore.  He  was  lib- 
eral in  his  own  way,  and  willing  to  help  those  who  would  help 
themselves,  and  in  disposing  of  his  city  lots  always  made  his  sales 
on  such  terms  as  would  enable  a  thrifty  man  to  become  owner  of 
his  house  with  a  few  years  steady  industry.  He  also  took 
some  pride  in  giving — but  not  too  often — to  those  whom  he  called 
"the  devil's  poor" — the  shiftless  creatures  whom  nobody  else 
would  help ;  he  built  for  his  own  summer  residence  a  beautiful 
mansion  in  the  midst  of  his  vineyard,  overlooking  the  river;  he 
had  a  fine  library,  and  collected  many  works  of  art  which  he  treas- 
ured highly.  He  died  on  the  loth  of  February,  1863,  the  reputed 
possessor  of  over  $15,000,000. 


PHINEAS   TAYLOR   BARNUM. 

FIFTY  years  of  struggle,  toil,  adventure,  and  audacity,  twenty  of 
comparative  rest  and  enjoyment,  would  briefly  sum  up  the  seventy 
years  of  the  millionaire  showman's  life ;  not  that  enjoyment  was 
excluded  from  even  the  most  laborious  and  uncertain  portion  of 
this  curious  career,  for  Mr.  Barnum  seemed  able  to  amuse  himself 
with  the  same  facility  that  he  did  others,  under  every  variety  of 
circumstance,  favorable  or  unfavorable.  Very  early  in  life  he  dis- 
covered that  the  world  was  "  his  oyster,"  which  could  be  opened 
for  his  benefit,  if  attacked  with  sufficient  skill  and  determination  ; 
commencing  almost  as  soon  as  he  could  talk  to  accumulate  pen- 
nies, he  has  not  yet  ceased  to  add  to  his  millions  of  dollars. 

P.  T.  Barnum  very  nearly  escaped  being  ushered  into  this 
breathing  world  on  the  anniversary  of  American  Independence, 
being  born  at  Bethel,  Connecticut,  on  the  5th  of  July,  1810.  Had 
the  momentous  event  occurred  twenty-four  hours  earlier,  those 
who  know  the  "  greatest  showman  on  earth  "  can  imagine  what  a 
theme  for  self-gratulation  this  start  in  life  would  have  been  to  him ; 
and  how  the  classic  "  bird  of  freedom  "  would  have  been  made  to 
shriek  aloud  in  his  honor  on  every  recurring  4th  of  July.  But  a 
good  Providence  spared  us  this  last  drop,  knowing  well  that  no 
extra  inflation  was  needed  to  keep  this  buoyant  spirit  afloat,  soar- 
ing over  difficulties  and  disasters,  a  very  slight  fraction  of  which 
would  have  overwhelmed  most  men  at  some  point  in  the  course 
of  a  career  beset  with  such  a  variety  of  obstacles  which  he  bravely 
overcame. 

It  is  astonishing  to  learn,  in  the  case  not  only  of  Mr.  Barnum, 
but  in  others  of  our  wealthy  men,  how  many  kinds  of  business  they 
tried,  and  how  many  partial  or  total  failures  they  made,  before  hit- 
(494) 


P.  T.  BAR  NUM. 


PHINEAS    TAYLOR     BARNUM.  495 

ting  upon  the  line  of  business  in  which  they  were  enabled  to  make 
the  large  fortunes  eventually  acquired ;  indeed,  this  is  rather  the 
rule,  and  Mr.  Barnum  was  no  exception  to  it.  As  a  boy  on  his 
father's  farm,  he  appears  to  have  been  able  to  induce  his  parent 
to  pay  him  something  for  his  work ;  he  got  ten  cents  a  day  for 
riding  the  horse  which  led  the  ploughing  oxen  ;  and  this,  with 
other  small  acquisitions,  he  saved  until  some  occasion  when  he 
could  put  it  to  profitable  use.  This  was  principally  on  holidays — 
"  training-day,"  and  Fourth  of  July,  being  the  principal ;  he  then 
prepared'  himself  with  home-made  gingerbread,,  cookies,  and 
cherry  rum,  which  he  sold  to  the  hungry  and  thirsty  improvident, 
so  that  instead  of  spending  his  own  money,  he  found  himself  richer 
by  a  dollar  or  two  at  the  end  of  every  festival.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  he  owned  a  sheep  and  a  calf,  but  as  from  this  time  forward 
he  was  obliged  to  buy  his  own  clothes,  there  was  not  much  oppor- 
tunity for  either  hoarding  or  speculation.  About  this  time,  1822, 
he  made  his  first  trip  to  New  York,  assisting  a  neighbor  in  driv- 
ing cattle,  starting  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  snow-storm  in  January. 

In  1825,  when  Phineas  was  about  fifteen,  his  father  died,  leaving 
his  widow  with  five  children,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the 
eldest.  The  mother  was,  however,  a  very  able  and  energetic 
woman,  and  not  only  supported  herself  and  family  in  comfort,  by 
keeping  a  house  of  entertainment  for  travellers,  but  acquired  some 
property,  so  that  Barnum's  youth  was  not  clogged  by  the  responsi- 
bility of  caring  for  them  financially.  Neither  apparently  did  he 
receive  anything  from  his  father's  estate,  which  was  heavily  mort- 
gaged, but  which  the  widow  finally  redeemed.  After  a  short  time 
the  clerking  with  Mr.  Weed  was  broken  off,  and  the  future  million- 
aire went  to  a  small  place  called  Grassy  Plain,  near  Bethel,  and 
engaged  in  the  same  capacity  with  another  firm  for  $6  a  month 
and  his  board. 

In  1829,  when  a  little  over  nineteen,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Taylor,  of  Brooklyn,  a  daughter  of  his  former  employer.  In  the 
winter  of  1833-4  we  6°^  the  coming  hero  in  a  new  role — located 


496  PHINEAS     TAYLOR     BARNUM. 

with  his  family  in  New  York,  and  looking  in  the  Sun  for  "  wants." 
It  was  at  this  time  he  met  Mr.  Niblo,  who  afterwards  became  his 
firm  friend.  He  offered  Mr.  Barnum  the  position  of  bartender, 
with  an  engagement  for  three  years,  but  the  latter  did  not  wish  to 
bind  himself  for  that  length  of  time.  Not  finding  any  satisfactory 
employment,  he  opened  a  boarding-house  at  52  Frankfort  street, 
where  he  was  well  patronized  by  his  Connecticut  friends.  He 
also  bought  an  interest  in  a  grocery  store  at  156  South  street. 

It  would  seem  that  his  various  changes  of  occupation  must  have 
afforded  Mr.  Barnum  sufficient  data  upon  which  he  could  base  an 
opinion  as  to  what  he  was  best  fitted  to  succeed  in.  By  the  time 
he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age  he  had  already  been  in  twelve 
different  occupations,  but  he  had  not  yet  found  his  true  vocation ; 
it  was  soon  to  come.  In  the  summer  of  1835,  Mr.  Coly  Bartram, 
of  Reading,  Connecticut,  told  Mr.  Barnum  that  he  owned  an  in- 
terest in  a  remarkable  negress,  whom  he  believed  to  be  1 60  years 
old,  who  was  then  being  exhibited  in  Philadelphia.  She  claimed 
to  have  been  the  nurse  of  George  Washington,  and  for  proof  of 
her  age  a  bill  of  sale  was  exhibited  dated  February  5th,  1727, 
from  Augustine  Washington  to  Elizabeth  Attwood,  his  half-sister, 
in  which  "  one  negro  woman,  Joice  Heth,"  was  described  as  fifty- 
four  years  of  age.  Mr.  Barnum  determined  to  possess  himself  of 
this  living  curiosity.  He  had  but  $500  in  cash  ;  he  borrowed  $500 
more,  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  grocery  store,  and  started  for 
Philadelphia.  The  proprietor  at  first  asked  $3,000  for  the  old 
negress,  but  finally  took  $1,000,  and  Phineas  T.  Barnum  com- 
menced his  career  as  showman — the  vocation  to  which  he  was 
evidently  born.  Bringing  her  to  New  York,  and  then  passing  to 
other  cities,  a  very  profitable  tour  was  made.  But  the  poor  old 
creature  finally  died  of  old  age  on  his  hands  some  seven  months 
later,  and  was  given  a  respectable  burial  in  her  owner's  native 
town  of  Bethel. 

From  this  time  forward  Mr.  Barnum  has  scarcely  ever  been 
entirely  out  of  the  show  business.  From  1836  until  1841  he  was 


PHINEAS    TAYLOR     BARNUM.  497 

mainly  engaged  with  conducting  travelling  companies,  vibrating 
between  New  York,  Chicago,  and  New  Orleans,  taking  on  the 
route  such  towns  and  cities  as  were  likely  to  prove  profitable. 

The  famous  "  Barnum's  American  Museum "  was  opened  in 
1850,  after  many  ups  and  downs  in  business,  and  Mr.  Barnum's 
fortune  was  thus  made.  It  was  not  long  before  the  museum  had 
to  be  enlarged,  a  lecture-room  was  added,  which  was  soon  adapted 
for  a  theatre,  where  "  moral  dramas  only "  found  a  place.  The 
"  Drummond  light,"  the  precursor  of  the  electric,  which  first  shed 
its  brilliancy  on  Broadway,  was  from  the  fagade  of  the  old  "  Bar- 
num's Museum"  which  stood  on  the  present  site  of  the  Herald 
office.  No  money,  no  amount  of  time  or  trouble  was  spared  to 
make  the  museum  worth  a  visit  by  all  classes  of  persons.  There 
was  often  something  to  attract  the  student  of  natural  history  and 
even  the  scientific  professor,  and  always  abundant  material  to 
satisfy  the  lovers  of  the  curious,  or  those  in  search  of  amusement 
only. 

The  two  best  paying  cards  which  Mr.  Barnum  ever  had  to  play 
were  the  Jenny  Lind  concerts  and  the  lately  deceased  dwarf 
("Tom  Thumb"),  Charles  S.  Stratton.  The  profit  derived  from 
the  exhibition  of  the  "little  General"  in  this  country  and  Europe 
has  never  been  divulged,  but  it  must  have  been  enormous ;  at  least 
three  considerable  fortunes  were  made  out  of  it — Mr.  Stratton, 
Sr.,  the  General  himself,  and  Mr.  Barnum,  each  having  accumu- 
lated more  than  they  ever  cared  to  tell  from  this  source,  between 
1842  and  1863. 

The  total  receipts  of  the  ninety-five  "Jenny  Lind  concerts," 
given  under  Mr.  Barnum's  management,  was  $712,161.34,  of 
which  he  received  $535,486.25,  more  than  half  a  million  dollars, 
net,  between  September,  1850,  and  the  following  June.  When 
Mr.  Barnum  signed  the  agreement  with  Jenny  Lind,  through  an 
agent  in  England,  he  had  never  heard  her  sing  or  even  seen  her ; 
the  enterprise  was  an  entire  novelty  at  that  time,  and,  considering 
the  amount  of  money  risked,  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  auda- 
32 


498  PHINEAS     TAYLOR     BARNUM. 

cious  projects  ever  attempted.  He  used  to  say  himself  that  he 
trusted  entirely  to  her  reputation  as  to  her  vocal  powers,  and  to 
her  character  for  benevolence  to  win  the  sympathy  of  the  Ameri- 
can people ;  the  rest  was  all  effected  by  reiterated  "  puffing." 

It  was  during  the  first  years  of  his  contract  with  little  "Tom 
Thumb "  that  Mr.  Barnum  erected  at  Fairfield,  near  Bridgeport, 
Connecticut,  the  famous  residence  known  as  Iranistan.  It  was 
situated  on  seventeen  acres  of  land  fronting  on  Long  Island  Sound, 
and  its  peculiar  construction — a  square  centre  with  two  wings, 
surmounted  by  Turkish  domes  and  pinnacles — attracted  great  at- 
tention. It  was  occupied  by  the  family  in  the  fall  of  1848,  and 
with  certain  intervals  of  absence  as  a  summer  residence  until  it 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  in  December,  1857.  It  was  at  this  place 
that  an  elephant  was  occasionally  seen  ploughing  by  the  aston- 
ished travellers  on  the  New  York  &  New  Haven  Railroad.  Of 
course  this  was  only  a  huge  advertisement  for  the  proprietor  of 
the  American  Museum.  Iranistan  had  cost  $150,000;  little  was 
saved,  and  the  ground  with  the  minor  buildings  upon  it  was  sold 
to  the  late  Elias  Howe,  Jr.,  "  sewing-machine  needle  "  inventor,  for 
$50,000. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  narrate,  in  less  space  than  an  entire 
volume,  the  great  number  of  enterprises  undertaken  by  Mr.  Bar- 
num in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  other  cities ;  or  the 
details  of  his  several  trips  abroad,  and  his  long  residence  in  Eng- 
land ;  or  of  his  lecture  tours  at  home  and  in  England.  But  the 
two  pet  objects  of  his  life  may  be  fairly  designated  as  the  ambi- 
tion to  provide  the  very  best  museum  and  public  shows,  and  next 
to  that  was  his  desire  to  improve  and  beautify  the  city  of  Bridge- 
port, Connecticut.  He  had  been  going  on  prosperously  for  so 
many  years  that  when,  in  1856,  it  was  blazoned  abroad  that  "  Bar- 
num had  failed,  swamped  by  the  Jerome  Clock  Company,"  it  took 
the  community  by  surprise,  but  probably  the  most  astonished  per- 
son in  the  United  States  was  P.  T.  Barnum.  The  history  of  his 
entanglement  with  the  clock  company  can  only  be  explained  by 


PIIINEAS    TAYLOR     BARNUM.  499 

his  infatuation  for  speedily  building  up  East  Bridgeport.  He  had 
made  very  large  and  hazardous  speculations  in  land,  chiefly  on  the 
east  side  of  Pequonnock  river,  and  his  desire  to  attract  capital  and 
to  establish  manufactories  on  the  site,  led  Him  to  lend  a  willing  ear 
to  the  plausible  statements  of  Mr.  Chauncey  Jerome,  President  of 
the  clock  company,  for  which  there  seemed  too  little  foundation  to 
delude  so  shrewd  a  man  as  Mr.  Barnum.  But  the  idea  of  getting 
the  concern  located  in  East  Bridgeport  appeared  for  the  moment 
to  have  eclipsed  his  judgment,  and  he  became  involved  in  liabili- 
ties, as  he  avers,  through  misstatements,  which  ended  at  the  time 
in  his  financial  ruin,  absolutely  absorbing  all  his  fortune.  He  had 
years  before  settled  a  handsome  property  on  his  wife,  but,  with 
great  nobleness  of  spirit,  she  sacrificed  a  great  portion  of  this  in 
helping  to  pay  off  the  indebtedness  for  which  her  husband  was 
liable. 

At  the  time  when  this  disaster  occurred  Mr.  Barnum  was  ap- 
proaching his  fiftieth  year,  but,  instead  of  allowing  himself  to  be 
crushed,  he  resolutely  set  himself  to  pay  the  enormous  weight  of 
debt  resting  upon  him  ;  his  family  voluntarily  gave  up  their  expen- 
sive style  of  living  and  sought  economical  quarters.  His  young- 
est daughter  even  proposed  to  leave  school  and  give  music  les- 
sons. Mr.  Barnum  re-engaged  the  "  little  general  "  and  went  with 
him  once  more  to  Europe,  part  of  the  time  intrusting  "Tom 
Thumb  "  to  an  agent,  while  he  utilized  his  time  in  delivering  his 
famous  lecture  on  "  The  Art  of  Money-Getting  "  through  the  princi- 
pal towns  and  cities  of  England.  Both  ventures  proved  very  success- 
ful, but  all  the  surplus  was  devoted  to  taking  up  his  notes  payable  to 
the  creditors  of  the  clock  company.  At  last,  after  four  years  of  un- 
remitting toil  abroad  and  at  home,  he  succeeded  in  extinguishing  this 
incubus  of  debt,  and,  on  the  i;th  of  March,  1860,  he  bought  back 
from  Messrs.  Butler  and  Greenwood  the  American  Museum,  which 
he  had  sold  to  them  in  the  zenith  of  his  prosperity  some  years  be- 
fore. "  Richard  was  himself  again  ;  "  embarked  once  more,  as  he 
said,  on  "  the  good  old  ship  American  Museum."  To  others  the 


cjCO  PHINEAS    TAYLOR     BARNUM. 

voyage  did  not  look  promising  ;  the  civil  war  broke  out  in  a  few 
weeks,  and  all  interests  seemed  centred  on  public  events,  but  the 
extraordinary  enterprise  and  energy  which  the  old  showman  in- 
fused into  the  management  of  his  favorite  establishment  really  al- 
most compelled  patronage,  and  very  soon  the  proprietor  was  in 
the  full  tide  of  success. 

With  the  proceeds  of  his  re-established  business  Mr.  Barnum 
now  built  a  new  home  in  Bridgeport,  very  near  the  old  site  of  Ira- 
nistan,  which  he  called  Lindencroft.  East  Bridgeport,  too,  took  a 
renewed  lease  of  life  ;  factories  sprang  up,  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson 
Sewing-Machine  Company  took  the  site  of  the  deceased  clock 
company,  and  the  land  still  remaining  to  Mr.  Barnum  rose  propor- 
tionately in  value.  The  land  he  had  bought  in  1851  was  assessed 
at  the  value  of  $36,000;  in  1859  it  was  worth  over  $1,200,000. 

On  the  1 3th  of  July,  1865,  the  American  Museum  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  With  its  contents,  this  building  was  valued  at  $400,000 ; 
the  small  amount  of  $40,000  was  all  the  insurance  there  was  upon 
it.  Horace  Greeley  advised  Mr.  Barnum  to  take  this  destruction 
of  the  museum  "  as  a  notice  to  quit,"  and  suggested  he  should  re- 
tire  from  active  business  and  "  go  a-fishing."  But  Mr.  Barnum 
loved  the  excitement  of  work  too  well  to  heed  such  advice — which 
the  giver  would  certainly  not  have  taken  himself  at  the  age  of 
fifty-five,  however  rich  he  might  have  been.  Four  months  later 
three  adjoining  buildings  on  Broadway — Nos.  535-7-9 — known  as 
the  Chinese  Museum,  were  bought  out ;  other  smaller  collections 
added,  and  in  November  the  building  was  opened  by  Mr.  Barnum 
as. the  New  American  Museum,  the  site  being  far  nearer  to  the 
centre  of  population  than  the  old  one.  The  sale  of  the  original 
site  introduces  us  to  a  curious  passage  of  arms  between  the 
"  showman  "  and  the  "  editor." 

In  1851  Mr.  Barnum  had  taken  a  lease  of  the  old  museum 
property,  for  twenty-five  years,  at  $10,000  per  annum,  with  a 
clause  by  which  the  lessor  agreed  that  in  case  of  fire  he  would  pay 
$24,000  toward  rebuilding  the  edifice,  and  at  the  end  of  the  lease 


PHINEAS  TAYLOR  BARNUM.  50! 

would  take  it  at  a  price  not  to  exceed  $100,000.  But  real  estate 
in  New  York,  at  least  in  that  neighborhood,  has  trebled  in  value 
since  this  agreement  was  made  ;  an  expert  in  real  estate  values 
decided  that  the  balance  of  the  lease  was  worth  at  least  $275,000. 
The  elder  James  Gordon  Bennett  desired  to  erect  his  newspaper- 
office  on  the  site,  and  Mr.  Barnum  offered  it  to  him  for  the  very 
reasonable  sum  of  $200,000.  This  offer  was  accepted,  and  the 
money  paid;  but  Mr.  Bennett,  wishing  to  own  the  ground  in  fee, 
agreed  to  pay  the  owner  $400,000  for  that.  Very  soon  Bennett 
learned  that  the  price  was  most  exorbitant,  considering  the  fact 
that  -it  was  burdened  with  an  expensive  lease.  Chagrined  at 
being  thus  taken  in,  the  editor  of  the  Herald  first  tried  to  get  rid 
of  his  bargain  with  the  owner  of  the  land,  and  then  sent  a  lawyer 
to  Mr.  Barnum  to  try  and  induce  him  to  give  back  the  $200,000 
he  had  received  for  the  lease!  Of  course,  he  would  do  nothing 
of  the  kind.  The  attorney  returned  to  his  employer  with  the  re- 
fusal, and  the  very  next  morning  all  Mr.  Barnum's  advertisements 
were  eliminated  from  the  columns  of  the  Herald.  Mr.  Barnum 
understood  that  this  meant  war;  he  went  to  the  Herald  office, 
and  tendered  payment  for  further  advertisements;  the  tender  was 
formally  declined  by  the  "managing  editor"  under  orders,  and 
Mr.  Barnum  left  baffled,  but  not  defeated.  There  was  then  in 
New  York  a  "  Managers'  Association,"  composed  of  all  those  per- 
sons engaged  in  either  theatrical  or  other  shows  of  any  importance, 
to  which  of  course  M,r.  Barnum  belonged.  He  at  once  proceeded 
to  notify  the  secretary  of  the  conduct  of  the  Herald.  A  meeting 
of  the  association  was  called  and  a  committee  appointed  to  wait 
upon  Mr.  Bennett  and  get  his  ultimatum.  This  committee  con- 
sisted of  Messrs.  Wallack,  Wheatley  and  Stuart.  Failing  to  get  a 
promise  from  Bennett  that  he  would  print  Mr.  Barnum's  advertise- 
ments, the  managers'  association  voted  to  withdraw  all  patronage 
from  the  Herald,  and  from  that  time  forward,  for  the  space  of 
about  two  years,  all  these  managers  headed  their  advertisements 
in  the  other  papers  thus,  "  This  establishment  does  not  advertise 


502 


PHINEAS     TAYLOR     BARNUM. 


in  the  New  York  Herald"  a  course  which  affected  the  sale  of  that 
paper  very  unfavorably,  as  a  large  proportion  of  city  readers  have 
no  use  for  a  paper  which  does  not  contain  a  full  "amusement" 
column  of  advertisements.  Finally  the  matter  was  compromised 
by  the  managers'  association  returning  their  notices  to  the  Herald 
on  condition  that  Barnum's  was  also  admitted.  This  war  of  the 
editor  vs.  the  showmen  terminated  in  the  fall  of  1868.  Meanwhile 
the  New  Museum  had  been  a  continuous  success,  Mr.  Barnum 
having  found  plenty  of  modes  of  advertising  without  the  aid  of  the 
Herald. 

Fire  was  again  the  element  destined  to  change  the  course  of 
Mr.  Barnum's  operations.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1868,  the  New 
Museum  was  burned  to  the  ground ;  and  so  sudden  and  complete 
was  the  destruction,  that  the  employes  in  the  building  barely 
escaped  with  their  lives.  Nothing  was  saved  of  the  contents,  and 
many  living  animals  perished  in  the  flames.  There  had  been 
$78,000  expended  on  the  building  in  addition  to  its  original  cost, 
$460,000,  and  there  was  an  insurance  of  $160,000.  Mr.  Barnum 
decided  not  to  rebuild,  and  some  months  subsequently  sold  the 
lots  for  $432,000.  Thus  by  three  fires,  Iranistan,  and  the  two 
museums,  he  lost  about  $1,000,000,  and  at  last  concluded  to  retire 
from  business  in  New  York,  and  devote  the  future  to  the  develop- 
ment of  his  Connecticut  home — East  Bridgeport.  In  this  matter 
he  had  as  a  zealous  colleague  his  friend,  Mr.  Noble.  Together 
they  presented  to  the  city,  years  before,  the  lands  now  known  as 
Washington  Park.  Projects  of  this  nature  had  floated  through 
Mr.  Barnum's  brain  since  1850,  but  the  conservative  nature  of  the 
Connecticut  farmer  effectually  baffled  the  completion  of  the  enter- 
prise for  many  years,  and  no  improvements  of  consequence  were 
made  by  the  municipality.  But,  in  1865,  the  interest  of  a  few 
other  gentlemen  was  enlisted  in  the  effort  to  redeem  a  strip  of 
land  on  the  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound  excellently  adapted  for 
park  purposes.  One  obstinate  farmer  held  out  against  the  im- 
provement for  a  long  time,  and  at  last  Mr.  Barnum  bought  the 


PHINEAS  TAYLOR  BARNUM.  503 

whole  farm  of  him  for  $12,000,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  present 
this  noble  water-front  to  the  city.  The  improved  section  is  now 
known  as  Seaside  Park.  In  July,  1869,  an  additional  gift  of  land 
worth  $5,000  was  made. 

While  thus  providing  for  the  public,  a  change  was  made  in  the 
domestic  arrangement  of  the  generous  donor.  In  the  summer  of 
1867  Lindencroft  was  sold,  and  in  1868—9  a  new  residence  built, 
which  was  named  "  Waldemeir,"  the  elegant  structure  now  occu- 
pied by  the  veteran  showman  and  his  second  wife.  On  this  large 
and  beautiful  estate  are  two  other  residences,  expressly  built  for 
two  •married  daughters,  and  named  respectively  "  Petrel's  Nest" 
and  "  Wavewood."  Here  Mr.  Barnum  usually  spends  five  months 
of  the  year,  devoting  seven  to  his  city  residence,  but  it  has  been 
impossible  for  him  to  adopt  an  idle  life,  and  directly  or  indirectly 
he  is  still  constantly  connected  with  some  form  of  public  entertain- 
ment. 

To  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  P.  T.  Barnum  is  known 
only  as  the  proprietor  of  a  museum,  and  the  head  figure  in  the 
"  greatest  show  on  earth,"  but  there  are  several  other  sides  of  his 
character  which,  though  known  to  many,  have  made  no  impression 
on  the  general  public.  As  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  said  of  him- 
self, "  That  his  reputation  as  a  wit  had  disqualified  most  persons 
from  believing  that  he  was  anything  more  or  better,"  so  with 
Mr.  Barnum  ;  his  public  career  as  a  showman  has  disqualified  the 
general  public  from  according  him  any  other  special  characteristics. 
The  biographer,  however,  must  remedy  this  injustice,  and  if  to  the 
ultra-refined  the  professional  showman  is,  and  ever  must  be,  utterly 
distasteful,  yet  justice  requires  that  the  qualities  of  the  private 
citizen  should  not  be  altogether  swamped  by  this  sort  of  prejudice. 
In  several  points  of  view,  aside  from  his  money-earning,  Mr.  Bar- 
num's  career  is  eminently  praiseworthy.  In  the  first  place,  if 
sharp,  he  is  honest,  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  great  personal  comfort, 
never  rested  until  all  his  debts  were  paid  to  the  full.  During  the 
latter  half  of  his  life  he  was  not  only  strictly  temperate,  but  an 


504  PHINEAS    TAYLOR     BARNUM. 

eloquent  advocate  of  temperance  principles  ;  in  his  American  Mu- 
seum he  was  the  first  to  banish  from  his  theatrical  entertainments 
that  obnoxious  adjunct  formerly  so  common — the  "bar;  "  and  then 
he  abolished  the  "  check  "  system,  which  facilitates  going-  out  to 
drink  between  acts.  The  "third  tier,"  known  to  old  New  Yorkers 
as  the  very  worst  feature  ever  tolerated  at  dramatic  representa- 
tions, never  found  any  place  under  his  management.  Nor  were 
any  representations  ever  given  at  the  museum  to  which  exception 
could  be  taken  on  moral  grounds.  When  the  war  broke  out,  be- 
ing then  fifty  years  of  age,  he  considered  himself  too  old  to  enter 
the  ranks,  but  he  procured  and  paid  for  four  substitutes ;  gave 
largely  to  the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  in  connection  with  his 
friend,  the  late  Elias  Howe,  Jr.,  early  in  the  summer  of  1860,  broke 
up  a  disloyal  "  peace  meeting  "  (called  to  convene  in  a  neighbor- 
ing town  in  Connecticut)  so  effectually  that  its  promoters  were  no 
more  heard  of.  In  1867  he  was  nominated  for  Congress,  for  the 
Fourth  District  in  Connecticut,  but  there  had  come  a  reaction  in 
national  politics,  and  a  tidal  wave  carried  in  the  opposing  candi- 
date. Mr.  Barnum  was  at  heart  always  a  Democrat,  and  acted 
with  that  party  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  when  he  changed 
for  a  period  his  political  affiliations  and  acted  with  the  Repub- 
licans. 

During  the  campaign  of  1867,  being  solicited  for  money  to  be 
used,  as  he  considered,  for  a  corruption  fund,  he  wrote  to  the  ap- 
plicant under  date  of  February  23d,  1867:  "Under  no  conceiva- 
ble circumstances  will  I  permit  a  dollar  of  mine  to  be  used  to 
purchase  a  vote,  or  to  induce  a  voter  to  act  contrary  to  his  honest 
convictions.  God  grant  that  I  may  be  a  thousand  times  defeated 
sooner  than  permit  one  grain  of  gold  to  be  accursed  by  using  it  so 
basely  !  Any  party  that  can  gain  a  temporary  ascendency  by  such 
atrocious  means,  not  only  poisons  the  body  politic  of  a  free  and 
impartial  government,  but  is  also  sure  to  bring  swift  destruction 
upon  itself,"  with  much  more  to  the  same  purport.  He  explained 
that  he  was  willing  to  give  money  for  legitimate  purposes :  for 


PHINEAS    TAYLOR     BARNUM.  505 

hiring  halls,  music,  printing,  anything  to  "enlighten  the  citizens  as 
to  their  duty,  but  for  no  other  purpose  whatever."  In  his  family 
relations  Mr.  Barnum  always  kept  the  welfare  of  wife  and  chil- 
dren pre-eminent;  he  had  no  son,  but  four  daughters,  three  of 
whom  are  living,  and  all  married.  It  is  freely  admitted  that  in  his 
professional  career  the  "  showman "  was  not  always  scrupulous, 
either  as  to  the  genuineness  of  his  exhibits  or  his  mode  of  attract- 
ing attention  to  them ;  but  his  sins  in  this  respect  were  venial,  and 
though  sometimes  in  questionable  taste,  yet  in  the  sum  total  of 
his  efforts  to  amuse  and  instruct  the  people,  these  flaws  were  in- 
significant as  compared  with  the  vast  amount  of  gratification  and 
real  knowledge  of  the  productions  of 'other  climes  which  he  diffused 
among  the  people.  A  year  or  two  ago,  when  severely  ill,  Mr. 
Barnum  availed  himself  of  the  circumstance  to  write  to  the  few 
people  in  Bridgeport  and  other  places,  with  whom  he  had  any 
misunderstanding,  making  such  admissions  as  were  necessary  for 
himself,  and  offering  to  overlook  any  supposed  injury  on  the  part 
of  his  correspondent.  He  was  very  speedily  gratified  by  con- 
ciliating responses  from  all  whom  he  had  addressed. 

About  a  year  ago  Mr.  Barnum  presented  to  his  native  place, 
the  town  of  Bethel,  a  beautiful  bronze  fountain,  which  was  cast  for 
him  in  Germany  at  a  cost  of  $10,000;  it  is  fifteen  feet  in  height, 
and  was  originally  intended  for  the  park  in  Bridgeport,  but  the 
parsimony  of  the  municipal  authorities  objecting  to  supply  water 
for  it  induced  Mr.  Barnum  to  send  it  to  Bethel.  The  day  of  its 
formal  presentation  was  quite  a  gala-time  with  the  inhabitants. 
The  Fourth  Regiment  of  the  Connecticut  National  Guards  turned 
out,  the  fire  department,  bands  of  music,  with  a  vast  concourse  of 
citizens  in  carriages  and  on  foot;  the  unveiling  was  preceded  by 
singing  and  speeches,  of  which  that  of  the  donor  was  perhaps  the 
most  remarkable,  consisting  largely  of  reminiscences  of  his  own 
youthful  life  in  Bethel,  and  the  customs  then  prevailing. 

Mr.  Barnum's  property  is  estimated  at  $3,000,000,  but  there  is 
no  telling  what  he  may  yet  add  to  it,  as  at  the  present  time  he  is 


506  PHINEAS    TAYLOR    BARNUM. 

in  partnership  with  Bailey  &  Hutchinson,  of  the  "  Great  London 
Show,"  which,  though  the  expenses  are  enormous,  yields  to  the 
three  partners  splendid  profits.  The  cost  of  a  travelling  menage- 
rie and  circus  is  given  by  this  grand  expert  in  such  affairs  as  from 
$3,000  to  $5,000  per  day,  when  conducted  on  the  enormous  scale 
of  his  later  combinations ;  the  advertising  he  reckons  at  about 
$200,000  per  annum.  At  the  exhibition  for  1882,  at  Gilmore's 
Garden,  in  New  York,  which  lasted  seven  weeks,  the  combination 
paid  Mr.  Vanderbilt  $27,000  for  rent. 

In  Bridgeport  Mr.  Barnum  is  regarded  almost  as  the  father  of 
all  its  modern  development;  he  has  been  mayor  of  the  city,  among 
other  honors  bestowed  upon*  him  by  a  grateful  people ;  he  is  the 
largest  landowner  in  the  place,  and  is  part  owner  of  the  leading 
newspaper.  There  are  few  people,  perhaps  none,  who  have  ever 
afforded  as  much  innocent  amusement  to  as  large  a  number  of 
persons  as  P.  T.  Barnum.  "  May  he  live  long  and  still  prosper."  • 


D.  O.  MILLS. 

CHARLES  ASTOR  BRISTED,  the  gentleman  Bohemian,  used  to  say 
that  "  Washington  was  the  only  place  in  America  where  the  people 
did  not  run  after  lions  ;  that  they  did  in  New  York,  because  they 
were  scarce,  but  in  Washington  they  were  too  common."  He 
might  change  his  opinion  now,  for  New  York  is  fast  becoming  the 
centre  to  which  gravitate  at  least  one  species  of  the  royal  animals 
— the  social  lions  of  to-day  are  the  great  millionaires,  the  "  rail- 
road "  and  "  bonanza  "  kings,  and  New  York  is  the  only  city  where 
they  can  reign  triumphant  in  virtue  of  their  wealth  alone.  Other 
cities  demand  other  qualities,  but  money  dominates  the  commer- 
cial metropolis.  These  remarks,  be  it  understood,  are  general 
and  do  not  apply  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Quite  recently 
some  half  dozen  of  the  "  diamond  peerage  "  have  settled  or  made 
arrangements  for  residing  in  New  York,  and  among  those  already 
located  on  Fifth  avenue  is  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
chapter,  and  almost  the  first  knowledge  which  the  community  had 
of  his  presence  was  the  erection  of  an  enormous  building  intended 
for  office  purposes  on  Broad  street  near  Wall,  opposite  the  Stock 
Exchange.  Mr.  Mills  is  a  native  of  the  State  of  New  York,  his 
birth-place  being  in  the  vicinity  of  Newberg,  on  the  Hudson ;  his 
family  were  of  good  stock  and  in  comfortable  circumstances,  and 
their  son  was  named  for  a  prominent  politician  formerly  well 
known  in  the  metropolis,  the  Hon.  Darius  Ogden.  Young  Darius 
received  a  fair  education,  and  after  some  experiments  in  other 
directions,  while  striving  to  ascertain  in  which  direction  success 
was  to  be  found,  he  went,  when  quite  a  young  man,  to  Buffalo, 
and  there  organized  a  bank  under  the  old  New  York  State  Safety 
Fund  system ;  this  was  carried  on  successfully  for  a  few  years, 

(507) 


508  D.    O.     MILLS. 

when  the  California  gold  fever  broke  out.  Almost  immediately, 
in  1849,  Mr.  Mills  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  Buffalo  Bank,  came 
to  New  York,  and  with  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  purchased  a 
large  quantity  of  assorted  merchandise  and  sailed  with  it  direct  to 
Sacramento  City,  from  whence,  by  the  natural  force  of  attraction, 
he  eventually  gravitated  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  continued  as 
one  of  the  leading  merchants  for  some  time  ;  but  apparently  born 
to  the  career  of  finance,  he  shook  himself  clear  of  the  uncertain- 
ties of  commercial  life  and  engaged  in  the  more  congenial  business 
of  banking ;  in  this  pursuit  he  had  already  accumulated  a  con- 
siderable fortune,  and  was  contemplating  retiring,  when  the  Bank 
of  California  was  organized  and  he  was  strongly  urged  to  accept 
the  Presidency.  He  was  known  in  San  Francisco  to  be  one  of 
the  best  financiers  in  the  city — honest  and  cautious,  without 
being  narrow  in  his  views,  and  eminently  a  person  to  be  safely 
trusted  with  the  monetary  affairs  of  others.  Such  a  position  as 
this  was  really  his  proper  role,  and  while  the  bank  was  under  his 
management  it  prospered  greatly,  regularly  paying  dividends  of 
one  and  one-half  per  cent,  monthly,  besides  accumulating  a  surplus 
of  $5,000,000. 

His  successor  in  the  presidency  was  William  C.  Ralston,  whose 
widely  spread  and  sometimes  rash  speculations  precipitated  its 
downfall.  (See  sketches  of  William  C.  Ralston  and  J.  Flood.)  At 
the  time  of  the  failure  of  the  bank  several  of  the  California 
papers,  after  getting  over  the  first  feeling  of  dismay  and  fright 
which  the  event  caused,  and  intensely  sympathizing  with  Mr. 
Ralston,  mourning  his  untimely  fate,  attacked  Mr.  Mills  as  having 
by  his  harshness  contributed  to  that  catastrophe.  There  was  more 
sympathetic  emotion  than  justice  in  this  course,  for  D.  O.  Mills' 
action  throughout  had  been  thoroughly  honorable,  and  certainly  in 
the  interests  of  the  stockholders ;  it  had  fallen  to  his  lot  to  convey 
the  request  of  the  meeting  to  Mr.  Ralston  that  he  should  resign 
his  office,  and  we  think  that  no  resident  of  San  Francisco  in  1875 
will  deny  that  Mr.  D.  O.  Mills  must,  in  addition  to  strict  business 


\ 

D.    O.     MILLS.  509 

principles,  have  possessed  nerves  of  steel  to  present  this  vote  of 
the  meeting  to  the  already  overwhelmed  President  of  the  Bank  of 
California :  this  written  request,  indorsed  as  it  was  by  the  opinion 
of  the  ex-president  "  that  it  was  necessary,"  was  equivalent  to  the 
death-warrant  of  the  generous-hearted  Ralston,  and  such  indeed  it 
proved.  No  one  can  affirm  that  Mr.  Mills  was  not  justified  in  his- 
opinion ;  but  there  were  few  men,  if  any,  in  that  city  who  could 
have  executed  the  ungrateful  task  with  the  calm  serenity  of  Darius 
Ogden  Mills. 

The  average  Californian  was  very  fond  of  drawing  contrasts 
between  the  genial,  open-handed,  often  extravagant  Ralston  and 
the  perfectly  proper,  calm,  and  dignified  Mr.  Mills  ;  but  the  latter 
can  also  be  genial  and  generous  in  directions  which  suit  him,  if  not 
to  every  passer-by.  While  still  residing  in  California  his  niece, 
Miss  Easton,  was  married  to  Mr.  C.  F.  Crocker,  then  second  Vice- 
President  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad.  To  grace  the  cere- 
mony, which  took  place  at  his  elegant  country  villa  at  Millbrae,  a 
very  large  number  of  guests  were  invited — a  special  train  of  five 
drawing-room  cars  conveying  the  company  from  San  Francisco. 
Mr.  Mills'  wedding-gift  to  the  bride  was  an  elegant  country  resi- 
dence situated  in  Menlo,  a  few  miles  from  the  city.  Neither  have 
his  gifts  been  limited  to  his  relatives  or  intimate  friends;  he  has 
already  commenced  to  distribute  a  portion  of  his  large  fortune. 
He  has  established  a  seminary  for  young  ladies  near  San  Fran- 
cisco at  a  cost  of  $200,000.  This  is  for  the  benefit  of  young 
women  on  the  Pacific  coast :  the  funds  being  intrusted  to  a  self- 
perpetuating  board  of  trustees.  He  has  also  given  $75,000  to  the 
University  of  California  to  endow  a  chair  of  Intellectual  and 
Moral  Philosophy  and  Civil  Polity.  He  has  shown  himself  to  be 
a  liberal  patron  of  art,  and  a  late  item  of  interest  relating  to  him 
and  illustrating  this,  as  well  as  his  affectionate  regard  for  the  State 
where  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his  large  fortune,  is  his  recent 
presentation  to  the  State  of  California  of  a  magnificent  piece  of 
statuary  representing  Columbus  at  the  Court  of  Isabella.  This 


r^o  D.    O.    MILLS. 

memorial  is  nine  feet  in  height  and  cost  $35,000:  it  is  to  adorn  the 
rotunda  of  the  capitol  at  Sacramento,  being  placed  in  position  at 
the  donor's  expense.  He  is  also  one  of  twelve  subscribers  to 
the  beautiful  bronze  called  the  "Still  Hunt:"  the  principal  figure 
of  this  artistic  composition  of  the  well-known  artist,  Ed.  Kemey, 
is  a  crouching  panther.  This  fine  work  of  art  has  recently  been 
placed  in  Central  Park. 

Mr.  Mills  has  come  to  be  considered  a  potential  factor  in  Wall 
street,  and  had  the  same  publicity  been  given  to  the  fact  that  he 
was  one  of  the  financial  pillars  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  as  was 
given  to  Jay  Gould's  connection  with  the  newspaper  press,  perhaps 
the  alarm  would  be  proportionate  to  the  supposed  danger  of  "  doc- 
tored "  financial  news ;  but  when  in  July  last  (1883)  he  gave  orders 
for  the  sale  of  all  his  Northern  Pacific  and  Erie,  though  the  street 
was  full  of  prophecies  of  evil,  neither  panic  nor  earthquake  en- 
sued. Mr.  Mills'  office  is  in  the  "  Mills  Building"  on  Broad  street, 
which  has  an  entrance  also  on  Wall  street.  This  immense  struc- 
ture is  ten  stories  high  and  contains  three  hundred  offices,  besides 
an  extensive  restaurant  for  the  accommodation  of  the  occupants  on 
the  top  floor.  Some  half  dozen  elevators  are  in  constant  use  in 
this  elegant  and  capacious  building.  It  is  finished  outside  and 
within  in  the  most  approved  style  of  modern  art  as  applied  to 
business  purposes ;  marble  stairs  and  corridors,  walls  and  stair- 
cases, with  panels  of  variegated  and  highly  polished  marbles  ;  here 
encaustic  tiles  relieve  the  eye,  fine-hammered  granite  bases  assure 
the  visitor  of  its  solidity,  the  finest  French  plate  glass  and  the 
choicest  woods  give  variety  and  finish  to  the  interiors.  The  main 
entrance,  fit  in  itself  for  a  royal  palace,  with  its  spacious  vestibule, 
is  enclosed  after  business  hours  with  an  elaborate  open-work 
bronze  gate,  a  work  of  art  worthy  of  careful  inspection.  From 
the  upper  stories  of  this  building  a  most  extensive  and  beautiful 
panorama  of  the  city,  the  bay,  the  East  and  North  rivers,  is  spread 
out  before  the  eye  of  the  observer.  On  the  occasion  of  the  open- 
ing ceremonies  of  the  East  River  bridge  six  hundred  invitations 


D.    O.    MILLS.  511 

were  issued  inviting  persons  to  view  the  proceedings  from  the 
"  Mills  Building,"  and  fully  that  number  were  present — some  thirty 
dinner-parties  also  finding  accommodation  there  on  that  occasion. 
Mr.  Mills'  New  York  residence  is  on  Fifth  avenue,  and  has  the 
peculiar  merit  of  looking  particularly  home-like.  The  most  ele- 
gant and  delicate  articles,  as  well  as  the  furniture,  have  the  air  of 
being  in  use,  and  not  simply  arranged  for  show.  If  this  is  art  it  is 
the  very  perfection  of  it.  The  grand  saloon  has  a  more  cheerful 
and  brilliant  appearance  than  many  of  the  modern  interiors :  in- 
stead of  being  persuaded  into  the  use  of  "bricky  reds"  and  ."yel- 
lowy greens,"  now  so  prevalent,  the  owner  has  not  been  afraid  to 
express  his  own  taste,  and  this  beautiful  reception-room  shines  re- 
splendent in  white  and  gold,  in  the  style  of  Napoleon  I.,  far  more 
enlivening  in  its  general  impression  on  guests  than  the  dingy  imi- 
tations of  the  "  early  English."  The  ceiling  of  the  main  saloon  is 
beautifully  frescoed  with  a  profuse  representation  of  spring  flow- 
ers. Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid,  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  and 
successor  of  Horace  Greeley,  is  married  to  a  daughter  of  this 
financier.  Mr.  Mills'  present  fortune  is  estimated  at  about  $12,- 
000,000 ;  but  what  it  may  be  a  short  time  hence  it  would  not  be 
safe  to  predict. 


DANIEL   DREW. 

THE  "  cattle  king  "  of  a  generation  ago  was  Daniel  Drew,  but 
since  his  day  the  business  of  the  drover  and  cattle-raising  has 
assumed  proportions  never  dreamed  of  by  this  pioneer.  Texas, 
the  great  source  of  supply,  was,  in  his  early  life,  a  part  of  Mexico, 
and  his  "West"  was  the  other  side  of  the  Alleghenies.  Mr. 
Drew  was  a  native  of  the  State  of  New  York,  being  born  in  Car- 
mel,  Putnam  county,  on  the  2Qth  of  July,  1797.  Like  many  of  the 
successful  operators  in  Wall  street,  Mr.  Drew's  early  life  was 
spent  on  a  farm,  and  his  hands  were  hardened  with  all  the  toil  in- 
cident to  that  sort  of  life.  His  father  not  being  particularly  pros- 
perous, Daniel  was  early  initiated  into  the  various  labors  of  agri- 
cultural life,  and  as  his  services  were  constantly  needed,  but  little 
time  was  allowed  for  schooling;  a  few  winter  sessions  included  all 
that  he  ever  enjoyed.  When  only  fifteen  years  old  his  father  died, 
leaving  his  wife  and  family  with  very  inadequate  means  of  support, 
his  own  labor  being  withdrawn,  and  his  eldest  son  such  a  mere 
lad.  But  the  boy  was  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  family  so  far 
as  he  knew  how  to  be ;  he  remained  at  home  the  three  following 
years,  performing  the  old  drudgery.  Then,  as  some  of  the 
younger  children  had  become  helpers,  he  thought  he  could  do 
better  at  something  else,  and  decided  to  come  to  New  York  city 
and  try  his  fortunes  there.  But  the  period  (1807)  was  inauspicious, 
the  times  were  very  bad,  business  was  almost  at  a  standstill ;  he 
could  not  get  an  engagement  in  any  such  business  as  he  desired, 
and  he  had  temporarily  to  return  to  Carmel,  for  his  scanty  funds 
did  not  admit  of  his  remaining  in  the  city  unemployed.  His  trip, 
however,  had  not  been  fruitless ;  he  had  stopped  at  a  tavern  where 
many  farmers  and  drovers  halted,  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city ;  he 
(512) 


DANIEL     DREW.  513 

used  his  eyes  and  ears,  and  soon  learned  that  a  great  many  beef 
cattle  were  needed  for  the  New  York  market,  and  he  learned  that 
in  Putnam  county,  not  far  from  his  home,  such  cattle  could  be  pro- 
cured, at  a  price  which  would  afford  a  good  profit  if  he  only  had 
the  capital  to  invest  in  them.  Lacking  that,  he  concluded  to 
collect  a  drove  and  sell  them  on  commission  for  others.  But  the  ' 
farmers  were  limited  in  money  matters ;  there  was  not  much 
money  in  that  way  of  doing  business.  However,  he  saved  what 
he  could,  and  now  and  then  bought  an  animal,  fattened  it  up  on 
the  old  farm,  and  adding  it  to  his  next  drove,  was  able  to  make 
something  extra.  By  degrees  he  was  able  to  buy  more,  and  in  a 
few  years  brought  his  own  stock  to  market.  It  was  better  than 
farming,  but  he  did  not  see  a  fortune  in  it.  Cattle  would  inoppor- 
tunely die,  the  market  price  varied,  accidents  happened,  and 
Daniel  Drew  had  concluded  he  could  do  better. 

At  this  time  there  was  in  New  York,  not  far  from  the  junction 
of  the  Bowery  and  Third  avenue,  a  famous  gathering-place  of 
farmers,  drovers,  butchers,  and  market-men,  known  as  the  "Bull's 
Head."  Here  Mr.  Drew  established  a  tavern,  which  became  a 
famous  place  in  his  day  and  for  long  after  he  abandoned  it.  This 
might  be  called  the  real  starting-point  of  his  subsequent  prosperity. 
After  locating  here,  he  entered  into  partnership  with  two  other 
drovers,  they  taking  the  practical  part  of  the  work,  and  he  furnish- 
ing most  of  the  original  capital,  to  buy  cattle  in  the  adjoining 
counties  for  the  New  York  market.  The  business  grew  and  pros- 
pered ;  the  purchasing  circle  was  extended  first  to  Western  New 
York,  then  to  Pennsylvania,  and  finally  to  the  then  distant  plains 
of  Ohio.  This  firm  of  Drew  &  Co.  were  the  first  drovers  who  ever 
brought  the  cattle  from  the  West  to  New  York.  The  first  drove 
to  cross  the  Allegheny  mountains  was  a  herd  of  2,000 ;  they  were 
divided  into  twenty  droves,  and  the  most  careful  and  experienced 
men  that  could  be  found  were  employed  to  drive  them.  Our 
reader  may  judge  of  the  vast  changes  which  have  taken  place  in 
the  business  since  that  period  when  we  state  that  it  took  this 
33 


514  DANIEL     DREW. 

pioneer  drove  eight  weeks  to  perform  the  journey,  which  is  now 
made  in  two  or  three  days.  The  cost  of  the  trip  was  $24  per  head, 
but  the  animals  were  in  good  condition  and  brought  excellent 
prices.  Mr.  Drew  remained  in  this  business  some  fourteen  years  ; 
it  was  very  profitable,  and  he  was  already  a  capitalist,  looking  out 
for  a  different  class  of  investments.  In  1834  there  was  running 
on  the  Hudson  river  a  steamer  called  the  "  General  Jackson," 
which  exploded  at  Grassy  Point.  This  vessel  was  owned  by  Jacob 
Vanderbilt  (brother  of  late  "  Commodore  "),  the  same  person  who 
owned  the  "  Westfield  "  of  the  Staten  Island  line,  which  exploded 
at  her  dock  near  the  battery  in  New  York.  The  "  General  Jack- 
son "  was  running  between  Peekskill  and  the  metropolis.  Jacob 
Vanderbilt  had  no  steamer  ready  to  put  on  in  its  place,  and  a 
friend  of  Mr.  Drew's  immediately  placed  the  "  Water  Witch  "  on 
the  river.  Into  this  boat  Daniel  Drew  put  $1,000,  his  first  invest- 
ment in  North  River  steamers.  As  soon  as  possible  Vanderbilt 
substituted  the  "  Cinderella  "  for  his  lost  steamer,  and  ran  oppo- 
sition to  the  "Water  Witch,"  putting  down  his  rates  to  mere 
nominal  figures,  so  that  people  used  to  say  jocosely,  that  "  it  was 
cheaper  to  go  sailing  up  the  Hudson  than  to  stay  at  home."  The 
"  Water  Witch  "  of  course  had  to  put  down  her  rates  for  passen- 
gers and  freight,  so  that  neither  boats  were  making  anything,  each 
trying  to  see  if  they  could  drive  the  other  off.  At  the  end  of  the 
season  the  "Water  Witch"  was  in  debt  $16,000,  but  was  for- 
tunately sold  for  $20,000. 

In  the  meanwhile  Vanderbilt  tried  negotiations,  persuasion, 
threats  and  intimidation  to  prevent  Drew  and  his  friends  from  re- 
suming the  traffic ;  but  in  this  he  did  not  succeed,  for  in  the  spring 
of  1836  they  replaced  the  "Water  Witch  "  by  a  far  superior  boat — 
the  "  Westchester."  This  boat  extended  its  trips  to  Albany,  and  ran 
opposition  to  the  old  Hudson  river  line,  which  owned  several  fine 
steamers;  among  others  the  "De  Witt  Clinton,"  "North  America," 
etc.  These  latter  were  among  the  finest  river  steamers  then  afloat, 
and  the  company  felt  quite  secure  in  preserving  their  prestige  on 


DANIEL    DREW.  5  I  5 

the  Hudson.  But  Drew  was  a  hard  man  to  beat;  he  did  not  flinch 
from  the  struggle.  He  was  also  'a  man  of  resources  and  bright 
ideas.  Drew  &  Co.  bought,  at  an  expense  of  $26,000,  the  "Bright 
Emerald,"  and  ran  her  as  a  night  boat,  reducing  the  fare  from  three 
dollars  to  one,  and  affording  business  men  a  chance  to  get  to  or 
from  Albany  to  New  York,  and  vice  versa,  without  the  loss  of 
business  hours.  This  was  an  innovation  which  immediately  mel 
with  general  acceptance ;  and  so  popular  did  these  boats  become 
that  the  same  season  Drew  was  enabled  to  buy  another  steamer, 
called  the  "  Rochester,"  for  which  he  paid  $50,000,  and,  so  far  was  he 
from  yielding  to  the  opposing  party,  that  he  shortly  after  bought 
out  the  Hudson  river  line,  the  owners  of  which  had  become  tired 
of  the  contest,  and  he  then  raised  the  passenger-fare  again  to 
three  dollars ;  a  very  safe  proceeding,  since  there  was  no  longer  a 
competitor  on  the  river. 

At  this  period  Mr.  Isaac  Newton  was  extensively  engaged  in 
the  towing  business  on  the  North  river.  The  canal  boats  from 
the  Erie  canal,  which  needed  guiding  down  the  Hudson,  have  been 
a  source  of  steady  occupation  in  themselves,  while  sloop  and 
schooners  "  waiting  for  a  wind,"  and  failing  to  obtain  it,  have 
helped  to  make  the  business  of  towing  very  profitable.  It  proved 
so  to  Mr.  Newton,  and  in  1838-39  he  had  built  and  put  upon  the 
Hudson  two  fine  steamers  as  passenger  boats.  Mr.  Drew,  having 
conquered  the  Vanderbilt  opposition  at  considerable  cost  to  him- 
self, was  disposed  to  try  pacific  means  with  this  new  rival,  and  so 
adroitly  did  he  manage  matters  that  in  1840  he  induced  Mr.  New- 
ton to  enter  into  a  partnership  arrangement,  forming  what  was 
afterwards  known  as  the  "  People's  Line  "  of  steamers.  There 
were  others  in  this  combination,  among  them  P.  T.  Barnum,  but 
Mr.  Drew  was  the  largest  stockholder.  Then  followed  in  rapid 
succession  a  splendid  fleet  of  boats.  The  first  which  was  built  by 
this  company  was  called  the  "Isaac  Newton,"  and  was  the  first 
steamer  which  received  the  title>  since  become  somewhat  shopworn 
by  the  maker  of  newspaper  paragraphs,  of  "  Floating  palace," 


516  DANIEL     DREW. 

being  certainly  the  most  elegantly  fitted-up  boat  on  the  inland 
waters  of  New  York  up  to  that  time.  The  "New  World,"  the  "St. 
John,"  the  "Dean  Richmond"  and  the  "Drew"  followed  in  succes- 
sion, each  one  with  some  new  luxury  not  previously  thought  of.  This 
company  maintained  its  pre-eminence  over  all  comers,  and  several 
of  the  boats  named  are  still  in  the  service. 

Seven  years  later  Mr.  Drew  extended  his  boating  interest  to  the 
navigation  of  the  Sound.  When  the  new  route  between  New 
York  and  Boston,  via  Stonington,  was  projected,  Mr.  Drew  pro- 
posed to  furnish  the  water  connection,  and,  in  company  with  Mr. 
George  Law,  placed  a  line  of  steamers  on  the  Sound,  which  will 
be  still  remembered  by  many  old  travellers.  The  first  of  these 
were  the  "  Oregon  "  and  "  Knickerbocker."  Commodore  Vanderbilt 
and  Mr.  Drew  both  took  sufficient  stock  in  the  railroad  to  give 
them  a  controlling  interest  in  the  management,  and,  at  this  time 
being  quite  friendly,  no  rival  was  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  con- 
necting steamers  on  the  Stonington  line.  When,  later,  the  com- 
modore went  heavily  into  Hudson  River  Railroad  stock,  he  ad- 
vised Mr.  Drew  to  abandon  his  steamboating  on  the  Hudson,  as 
the  railroad  would  draw  all  the  passenger  traffic.  But  Mr.  Drew 
viewed  the  situation  differently.  He  held  on  to  his  boat?,  realizing 
that  he  could  afford  to  convey  both  passengers  and  freight  at  a 
lower  rate  than  could  the  road,  and  that  there  are  always  a  vast 
number  of  people  to  whom  a  dollar  saved  is  more  of  an  object 
than  time  gained.  He  was  right,  as  also  in  his  conviction  that 
the  increase  of  population  would  soon,  if  not  immediately,  furnish 
ample  traffic  for  both.  From  this  time  forward  there  was  an  under- 
current of  rivalry,  if  not  at  first  publicly  manifested,  between  the 
commodore  and  Daniel  Drew,  which,  to  some  extent,  was  felt  by 
the  numerous  employes  of  both ;  at  least  such  was  the  interpreta- 
tion given  by  many  who  witnessed  an  apparent  accident  by  which 
the  steamer  "Dean  Richmond"  was  run  down  by  the  "Vanderbilt." 

Among  other  enterprises,  Mr.  Drew  was  engaged  for  about 
seven  years  in  the  Champlain  Transportation  Company.  This 


DANIEL     DREW.  517 

company  was  formed  to  run  a  line  of  steamers  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain  from  Whitehall  to  the  northern  extremity  at  Rouse's  Point ; 
five  steamers  were  employed.  The  line  was  subsequently  bought 
out  by  the  Saratoga  &  Whitehall  Railroad  Company.  For  some 
years  previously  Mr.  Drew  had  been  engaged  in  the  banking 
business;  at  first  alone,  afterwards  (in  1840)  with  Mr.  Robinson 
and  others.  The  firm  of  Drew,  Robinson  &  Co.  was  well  known 
in  Wall  street  for  many  years ;  Mr.  Drew  remaining  at  the  head 
of  the  concern,  except  for  a  short  period  in  1855,  when  he  with- 
drew in  favor  of  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Kelly ;  but,  the  latter  surviv- 
ing 'only  a  short  time,  Mr.  Drew  resumed  his  old  relations  with  the 
firm.  In  this  business  he  had  been  naturally  brought  in  close  re- 
lations with  the  great  railroad  interests  of  the  country.  It  was, 
therefore,  almost  inevitable  that  he  should  seek  investments  for 
his  rapidly  accumulating  wealth  in  the  purchase  of  stock;  one  of 
his  investments  was  early  made  in  Harlem.  Yet  Wall  street  was 
rather  taken  by  surprise  when,  in  1855,  Daniel  Drew,  who  had 
hitherto  not  figured  as  a  "  money-king,"  became  the  indorser  of 
the  Erie  Railroad  Company !  first  for  $500,000,  and  soon  after  for 
$1,500,000,  and  this  at  a  period — 1857 — when  a  financial  panic  was 
sweeping  over  the  country.  It  followed,  of  course,  that  Mr.  Drew 
was  elected  a  director  of  "  Erie,"  and  thereafter  for  years  the  two 
names  of  "  Drew  "  and  "  Erie  "  were  almost  inseparable. 

Shortly  after  the  affairs  of  Erie  had  been  put  upon  a  safe  basis, 
mainly  by  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Drew,  the  company  desired  to  extend 
its  connections  west,  and  to  build  a  broad-gauge  ^section  of  road 
for  that  purpose.  To  do  this  it  was  necessary  to  issue  $10,000,- 
ooo  of  stock,  Mr.  Drew  standing  sponsor  for  the  whole  amount. 
This  movement  was  bitterly  opposed  and  fought,  inch  by  inch,  in 
the  courts  by  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  who  was  at  that  time  at  the 
head  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad.  Suffice  to  say  here  that 
"  Drew"  and  "  Erie  "  came  out  of  that  fight  triumphant,  the  legis- 
lature authorizing  the  issue  of  the  new  stock,  and  from  that  period 
Mr.  Drew's  financial  operations  were  as  closely  watched  as  any 


ijlS  DANIEL    DREW. 

man's  in  the  country.  Before  his  death  he  met  with  heavy  losses 
— at  one  time  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  $9,000,000  slipped  from 
his  grasp,  but  he  never  lost  his  courage  or  surrendered  a  point 
which  could  be  saved  by  effort. 

Mr.  Drew  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  When  quite  a  young  man  he  was  riding  out  with 
a  friend  one  day,  when  a  sudden  storm  arose,  from  which  they  were 
unable  to  find  shelter ;  the  lightning  struck  the  horse  they  were 
driving  and  killed  it,  while  young  Drew  and  his  friend,  though 
temporarily  benumbed  by  the  close  proximity  of  the  electric  fluid, 
escaped  without  injury.  This  incident,  which  he  regarded  as  a 
special  interposition  of  Divine  Providence  in  his  favor,  so  worked 
upon  his  emotions  of  gratitude  that  he  joined  the  church  in  good 
faith,  and  if,  in  subsequent  years,  he  sometimes  let  worldly  interests 
get  the  better  of  these  early  religious  convictions,  the  time  came, 
later  in  life,  when  he  took  up  the  subject  more  understandingly. 
In  1841  he  became  a  member  of  the  Mulberry  Street  Methodist 
Church  in  New  York,  of  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Seney  (father  of 
George  I.  Seney)  was  pastor.  Of  this  church  he  was  a  trustee  for 
many  years,  and  it  was  mainly  through  his  active  generosity  that 
the  society  was  enabled  to  build  an  elegant  marble  church  on 
Fourth  avenue,  and  remove  to  it  from  their  humble  quarters  in 
Mulberry  street. 

After  Mr.  Drew  became  wealthy  he  was  very  free  with  his 
money,  and  gave  away  much  in  private  charities,  but  he  could 
never  be  persifeded  to  give  to  objects,  public  or  private,  which  did 
not  meet  his  approbation.  His  pet  beneficiaries  were  institutions 
of  the  Methodist  denomination,  and  to  these  he  was  very  liberal. 
He  was  a  trustee  of  the  Wesleyan  University,  which  he  endowed 
with  a  succession  of  princely  gifts.  Some  time  before  his  death  he 
made  arrangements  for  establishing  the  Drew  Theological  Semi- 
nary, and  also  for  a  female  institute  of  a  high  order.  At  the  time 
he  planned  these  good  works  his  fortune  was  reckoned  at  $20,- 
000,000.  He  met  with  some  heavy  losses  in  the  latter  part  of  his 


DANIEL     DREW.  519 

life,  and  some  of  his  bequests  have  remained  in  abeyance  ;  but 
what  he  gave  to  the  interests  of  Methodism  in  his  lifetime  must 
ever  secure  for  him  the  grateful  remembrance  of  his  co-religionists. 
Mr.  Drew  survived  to  the  age  of  eighty-two,  his  death  occurring 
in  September,  1879.  He  left  two  children — a  son  and  a  daughter; 
the  latter  is  the  wife  of  a  Baptist  clergyman.  Mr.  Drew  was  a 
very  genial  man,  of  medium  height,  slight  build,  wiry,  active,  ner- 
vous, but  not  excitable.  He  is  reported  to  have  said  that  he 
"  never  lost  a  night's  sleep  through  business  cares  in  his  life."  If 
this  was  so,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was  true  up  to 
the  time  the  statement  was  made,  he  was  probably  an  exception  to 
most  men  of  his  class ;  few  financiers  could  show  such  a  serene 
record  as  that.  Mr.  Drew  had  regular  features,  rather  a  dark 
complexion  and  dark  hair,  which  was  very  little  changed  up  to  an 
advanced  age.  He  was  a  man  whom  all  his  business  acquaintances 
and  friends  liked  to  chat  with,  and,  though  he  kept  his  "  points " 
well  in  hand,  there  was  no  show  of  reticence  in  his  manner.  He 
was  a  kindly-hearted  man,  and  one  who  did  many  generous  deeds 
in  his  long  life. 


COLONEL  JAMES   C.  FAIR. 

COLONEL  FAIR  is  one  among  several  of  the  Pacific  slope  million- 
aires who  has  not  been  content  with  the  influence  which  money 
could  give  or  with  the  luxuries  which  wealth  like  his  could  procure. 
Nor  is  it  strange  that  in  the  prime  of  life  he  should  still  be  seek- 
ing new  fields  to  conquer  in  an  atmosphere  far  removed  from  the 
gold  fields.  Whether  it  is  desirable  to  have  in  so  small  a  body  as 
the  Senate  even  one  member  who  is  assessed  in  his  home  for  $42,- 
200,000  of  personal  property  may  well  be  considered  by  a  constitu- 
ency of  whom  the  vast  majority  are  laboring  people ;  but  this  is 
not  the  place  to  discuss  that  question. 

The  name  of  James  C.  Fair  will  be  recognized  at  once  as  one 
of  the  bonanza  kings.  Though  born  in  Ireland,  he  is  practically 
an  American,  having  been  a  resident  of  the  United  States  from 
his  childhood.  He  received  most  of  his  education  at  Geneva,  in 
the  State  of  Illinois  ;  and  this  was  principally  directed  to  preparing 
him  for  business.  After  leaving  school  he  first  went  to  that  great 
centre  of  enterprise — that  maelstrom  which  is  ever  drawing  to 
itself  the  youth  of  the  West — Chicago  ;  here  he  had  remained  but 
a  short  time  in  business  when  the  gold  fever  of  1849  broke  out 
with  all  its  virulence,  as  might  be  expected,  among  the  active  tem- 
peraments gathered  in  that  city.  Mr.  Fair  had  just  arrived  at  the 
hopeful  and  imaginative  age  of  eighteen ;  he  joined  the  great 
pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  gold,  arriving  in  August  of  that  year 
in  California.  He  had  come  overland,  and  the  first  place  that  he 
struck  was  a  point  on  the  Feather  river  known  as  Long's  Bar ;  he 
immediately  went  to  work  as  a  miner,  but  at  that  time  having  no 
practical  experience,  like  thousands  of  others  he  failed  to  strike  a 
paying  placer.  This  placer  mining  on  the  rivers  and  creeks  was 
(520) 


JAMES   G.    FAIR. 


COLONEL    JAMES     C.    FAIR.  52! 

that  generally  adopted  in  the  first  grand  rush  and  haste  to  gather 
up  that  which  lay  nearest  to  the  surface;  it  needed  no  expensive 
machinery,  of  which  indeed  there  was  none  attainable  at  that  period 
in  the  territory.  A  pick,  pan  and  shovel  was  the  miner's  outfit, 
and  with  these  simple  implements  sometimes  the  value  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars  a  day  was  secured ;  the  dirt  was  simply  washed  out 
in  the  pans ;  the  black  sand  and  gold,  being  heavier  than  the  dis- 
solved earth,  remained  in  the  bottom,  while  the  lighter  particles 
were  poured  off.  Some  rude  attempts  to  improve  on  the  simple 
pan  were  improvised,  such  as  the  "  cradle,"  or  the  "  rocker,"  which 
was  more  capacious  and  fitted  with  a  screen,  which  facilitated  the 
separation  of  the  gold  from  the  earthy  materials.  The  "long- 
torn,"  another  simple  substitute,  was  formed  by  fixing  a  box  in  such 
a  position  as  to  form  a  sluice-way,  into  which  the  crude,  unsifted 
material  was  thrown,  and  from  which  the  running  water  carried 
away  the  earth,  leaving  the  precious  metal  in  the  box. 

By  such  imperfect  means  as  these  did  James  C.  Fair  make  a 
beginning  on  the  road  to  fortune ;  but  he  was  one  of  those  who 
had  profited  by  his  early  instruction,  and  while  he  was  washing 
out  his  pans  of  dirt  it  must  have  occurred  to  him  that,  where  there 
were  placer  washings,  not  far  off  must  be  the  rock-beds  which 
supplied  these  auriferous  streams.  Certain  it  is  that  he  soon 
left  these  primitive  "  diggings  "  and  went  in  search  of  a  quartz 
mining  site,  which  he  believed  in  the  end  would  prove  more 
profitable.  A  favorable  opportunity  opened  to  him  at  Angels, 
Calaveras  county.  He  remained  there  some  time;  the  yield  being 
only  moderate,  and  his  motto  being  ever  "  Excelsior,"  he  pushed 
on  to  other  localities,  not  losing  much  time  where  the  prognostics 
were  only  "  fair  to  middling."  In  the  course  of  time,  adding  a 
varied  experience  to  his  book  knowledge,  he  became  an  acknowl- 
edged expert,  and  was  offered  the  superintendency  of  several  min- 
ing companies  in  various  parts  of  California.  After  he  had  been 
in  the  country  about  six  years  he  accepted  the  management  of 
the  famous  Ophir  mine,  in  Nevada,  and  two  years  later,  in  1857, 


522  COLONEL    JAMES    C.    FAIR. 

he  became  superintendent  of  the  rich  and  prolific  Hale  and  Nor- 
cross  mine,  both  of  these  being  within  the  section  since  known  as 
the  Comstock  Lode ;  and  it  was  during-  his  connection  with  the 
Hale  and  Norcross  that  he  began  to  accumulate  his  profits  in 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Mr.  Flood  about  this  time  be- 
came his  partner,  and  thenceforward  the  pair  have  gone  on  in 
princely  emulation,  counting  their  gains  no  more  by  thousands 
but  by  millions. 

The  next  important  move  in  which  Mr.  Fair  and  partner  were 
concerned  was  the  successful  effort  to  get  control  of  the  mines 
known  as  the  "  California,"  the  "  Sides,"  the  "  White  &  Murphy," 
the  "Central"  (Nos.  i  and  2),  and  the  section  known  as  "the 
Kenny  ground ;  "  these  are  the  mines  which  formed  the  famous 
combination  of  the  "Consolidated  California  and  Virginia;"  of  which 
John  W.  Mackay  later  became  a  partner.  It  is  understood  that 
this  consolidation  of  interest  was  made  mainly  under  the  advice 
of  Mr.  Fair,  whose  favorable  opinion  of  the  productive  capacity 
of  the  lodes  included  in  the  purchase  was  all-potent  with  the  others 
chiefly  interested.  That  he  was  not  mistaken  the  world  knows, 
and  if  the  Comstock  Lode  has  for  the  time  suffered  a  partial 
eclipse  by  the  more  newly  opened  mines  of  Colorado,  it  was  not 
until  the  Bonanza  kings  had  extracted  over  $300,000,000  from  the 
crude  ore.  Mr.  Fair  has  not  let  his  money  rust;  with  a  vast  in- 
come, which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  spend  in  any  personal 
gratification,  he  turned  his  attention  to  real  estate;  he  did  this  to 
some  extent  as  early  as  1858-59,  but  since  then  on  a  much  wider 
scale,  and  is  said  to  own  within  the  boundaries  of  the  city  of  San 
Francisco  seventy  acres  of  land.  Outside  of  the  city  he  owns  a 
large  and  beautiful  estate — Menlo  Park,  formerly  the  residence  of 
Hon.  Milton  S.  Latham.  Also  another  beautifully  situated  place  for 
a  city  residence,  on  that  high  rise  of  land  known  to  all  residents 
of  San  Francisco  as  California  Street  Hill ;  this  property  lies  on 
the  very  summit,  from  whence  is  obtained  a  very  extensive  view 
of  the  city  and  vicinity ;  but  for  much  of  the  time  Mr.  Fair  has 


COLONEL    JAMES    C.    FAIR.  523 

resided  in  Virginia  City,  where  he  has  spent  so  many  hours  down 
in  the  bottom  of  the  mines  that  it  has  told  on  his  physical  and 
mental  system. 

He  is  naturally  genial  in  his  manners;  but  as  a  practical,  work- 
ing superintendent  he  was  often  obliged  to  employ  many  rough 
and  unscrupulous  characters,  and  with  these  of  course  it  was  im- 
possible to  be  always  on  satisfactory  terms ;  many  of  these  miners 
were  known  to  have  been  desperate  characters  from  Australia, 
and  Mr.  Fair's  friends  did  not  always  consider  his  life  safe  in  a 
position  where  it  was  so  easy  to  have  "accidents  "  occur.  In  time 
this  way  of  life  told  even  on  his  robust  constitution,  and  at  last 
physicians  recommended  a  total  cessation  from  care  and  a  long 
voyage,  which  it  was  hoped  would  restore  the  general  tone  of  his 
system.  A  voyage  to  China  did  much  to  recuperate  the  exhausted 
nerves ;  since  which  Mr.  Fair  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  in  1881,  and  he  gives  every  evidence  of  having  been  en- 
tirely restored  to  his  normal  condition — except  that  at  the  close 
of  the  session  he  left  Washington  without  drawing  his  salary,  an 
event  unprecedented,  we  believe,  in  the  history  of  the  country. 
He  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 

There  are  always  a  good  many  stories  afloat  of  these  wealthy 
men,  and  nothing  pleases  "the  street"  better  than  to  hear  of  their 
getting  caught,  as  they  do  occasionally,  in  their  own  nets.  A  well- 
authenticated  anecdote  comes  to  us  of  Colonel  Fair  and  a  brother 
millionaire,  Mr.  Robert  Sherwood.  The  incident  occurred  four 
or  five  years  ago,  at  the  time  of  the  "  Sierra  Nevada  deal."  Mr. 
Sherwood  then  held  5,000  shares  of  "  Union  Consolidated."  Col- 
onel Fair  was  promenading  about  Nevada  Block  and  talking  in  a 
rather  boastful  manner,  and  pretty  loud,  about  the  prospective 
rise  in  "  Union  ;  "  in  fact,  he  was  "  bulling  "  the  street,  so  far  as 
the  group  of  persons  about  might  be  considered  susceptible  sub- 
jects. Mr.  Sherwood  very  quietly  remarked  that  he  hoped  these 
visions  of  a  rise  were  all  true,  but  he  had  his  doubts.  Colonel 
Fair  was  nettled  at  the  insinuation,  and  somewhat  rudely  retorted: 


524  COLONEL    JAMES    C.    FAIR. 

"Then  I  suppose  you  would  like  to  peddle  out  your  stock?  "  "No," 
said  Sherwood ;  "  I  don't  care  to  peddle  it,  but  I'll  sell  it  all  out  in 
a  block."  "  What'll  you  take  ?  "  "  Market  price."  By  this  time 
there  was  a  small  crowd  gathered  round,  and  all  were  scanning 
the  colonel  to  see  how  he  bore  the  bluff.  He  saw  he  could  not 
recede  without  bringing  down  on  himself  -the  derisive  laughter 
of  the  crowd.  "I'll  give  you  $175."  "No,"  said  Sherwood:  "I 
can  peddle  it  out  for  that — nothing  but  the  market  price."  "What 
is  it  now  ? "  was  the  almost  simultaneous  query  of  both  parties, 
as  they  walked  to  the  ticker.  "  $203  for  Union,"  said  some  one. 
"  I'll  give  you  $200,"  said  the  colonel.  "  I'll  take  it,"  said  Sher- 
wood ;  "  give  me  your  check."  "  Come  into  the  bank,"  and  in  a 
very  few  minutes  Colonel  Fair  had  the  5,000  shares  of  "  Union," 
then  on  the  drop,  and  Mr.  Robert  Sherwood  had  added  $1,000,000 
to  his  bank  account.  For  a  few  minutes  the  reported  purchase 
of  Colonel  Fair  braced  the  market  in  the  Stock  Board,  but  there 
was  no  saving  it  by  such  devices ;  it  shortly  after  fell  steadily,  till 
it  dropped  out  of  sight  and  ceased  to  be  listed. 

When  in  Washington  Mr.  Fair  occupies  Charles  Sumner's 
old  residence.  When  on  the  Pacific  coast,  his  great  delight  is  to 
drive  down  to  the  great  seaside  resort  on  the  beach  at  Santa  Cruz. 
Here,  particularly  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  he  was  formerly  pretty 
sure  to  make  his  appearance  with  his  family,  driving  his  own  team, 
and  seldom  did  he  return  without  taking  a  dip  in  the  refreshing 
waters  of  the  peaceful  ocean.  He  is  a  bold  swimmer,  and  his 
scarlet-trimmed  suit  might  often  be  discerned  at  a  somewhat  dis- 
quieting distance  from  the  shore. 

During  the  spring  of  1883  the  community  in  San  Francisco  as 
well  as  in  Virginia  City,  and  wheresoever  the  fame  of  Colonel  Fair 
had  extended,  were  startled  by  the  announcement  that  Mrs. 
Theresa  Fair,  wife  of  the  Senator  from  Nevada,  had  entered  a  suit 
for  divorce  in  the  District  Court  at  Virginia  City.  Counsel  for 
the  plaintiff  requested  that  the  examination  of  witnesses  be  con- 
ducted privately,  which  was  granted,  the  hearing  being  had  on  the 


COLONEL     JAMES     C.     FAIR.  525 

1 2th  of  May,  1883.  Newspaper  reporters  were  rigorously  ex- 
cluded. The  whole  affair  occupied  less  than  an  hour,  in  which 
time  the  court  was  convinced  .that  Mrs.  Fair  was  "justly  entitled 
to  a  decree  in  her  favor"  and  an  allowance  of  $4,250,000  in  cash 
and  United  States  bonds ;  together  with  the  family  residence  in 
San  Francisco,  and  the  custody  of  the  three  minor  children,  a  boy 
of  sixteen  and  two  daughters,  aged  respectively  thirteen  and  eight. 
The  eldest  son,  James  C.  Fair,  Jr.,  being  nearly  of  age,  was 
awarded  to  the  Senator.  It  was  this  son  of  whom  the  unfounded 
report  was  spread  that  he  had  shot  his  father.  These  parties  had 
been  married  since  1862,  and  had  lived  together  over  twenty  years, 
first  in  California  and  afterwards  in  Nevada.  After  the  divorce 
there  was  an  amicable  readjustment  of  some  of  the  property 
involved.  Mrs.  Fair  transferred  some  real  estate  which  had  been 
awarded  to  her  to  the  Senator,  and  he  deeded  to  her  other  prop- 
erty in  lieu  of  it.  She  also  acquiesced  in  his  taking  charge  of  the 
second  son  to  place  him  at  school  in  Germany.  Senator  Fair  ap- 
peared particularly  annoyed  at  the  publicity  given  to  the  particulars 
of  the  suit,  which  of  course  leaked  out,  despite  the  precautions  of 
the  court,  and  were  copied  in  every  paper  in  the  United  States 
within  a  few  days  of  the  rendering  of  the  decision.  He  should 
have  remembered  that  a  more  obscure  person  had  a  better  chance 
for  secret  proceedings  than  one  whose  enormous  wealth  constantly 
kept  thousands  of  eyes  upon  his  every  movement.  That  is  one 
of  the  penalties  of  distinction.  Mr.  Fair  left  almost  immediately 
for  Europe  with  his  two  sons,  giving  no  definite  information  as  to 
his  future  intentions.  He  is,  however,  building  another  palatial 
residence  in  San  Francisco  to  cost  $1,000,000. 


WEBSTER  WAGNER. 

THE  HON.  WEBSTER  WAGNER,  inventor  of  the  "  Wagner  Sleep- 
ing Car,"  and  late  Senator  of  New  York,  was  of  German  stock, 
though  a  native-born  American.  His  ancestors  were  among  the 
pioneer  settlers  who  colonized  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Mohawk, 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Peter  Wag- 
ner, of  the  American  army,  who  was  one  of  the  bravest  men  whose 
record  is  to  be  found  in  the  annals  of  "border  warfare"  in  the 
last  century,  was  Senator  Wagner's  great-grandfather.  He  also 
lived  to  fight  in  the  Revolutionary  army ;  and  when  he  died  there 
were  many  of  his  descendants  located  in  the  small  town  of  Pala- 
tine Bridge,  where  Webster  Wagner  was  born  on  the  2d  of  Oc- 
tober, 1817.  He  was  early  inducted  into  the  knowledge  that  this 
was  a  working  world;  brought  up  in  semi-rustic  style,  with  the 
mere  rudiments  of  an  education,  he  was  early  apprenticed  to  the 
trade  of  wagon-making  with  an  elder  brother  named  James,  who 
was  established  in  that  business.  After  fulfilling  his  term  as  ap- 
prentice, he  was  taken  into  partnership  with  his  brother,  but  for 
some  cause  the  business  did  not  prosper,  and  Webster  Wagner 
determined  to  turn  his  energies  in  some  other  direction.  He  had 
been  steady  and  industrious,  and  had  succeeded  in  making  some 
valuable  friends,  who  appreciated  his  intelligence  and  sound  com- 
mon sense,  and  through  one  of  these,  Mr.  Livingston  Spraker, 
who  was  a  Director  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Company, 
he  obtained  the  position  of  station-agent  at  Palatine  Bridge  in 
1843.  This  is  a  small  town  fifty-five  miles  northwest  of  Albany, 
and  the  local  passenger  traffic  did  not  amount  to  much ;  but  the 
agency  here  included  the  charge  of  the  freight  business,  and  to 
this  was  shortly  afterwards  added  the  agency  of  the  American 
(526) 


WEBSTER     WAGNER.  527 

Express  Company.  It  was  in  this  obscure  station  that  Mr.  Wag- 
ner commenced  his  acquaintance  with  the  railroad  business,  and 
the  familiarity  which  he  here  acquired  with  the  wants  of  travellers, 
'  and  the  many  discomforts  which  at  that  time  those  particularly 
who  made  long  journeys  had  to  endure,  first  set  his  mind  at 
work  on  the  possibilities  of  reducing  these  discomforts  to  a  min- 
imum. 

Being  of  an  exceedingly  active  temperament,  the  duties  of  the 
station  and  express  agency  failed  to  fill  up  his  time ;  he  therefore 
engaged  in  the  forwarding  of  grain  and  other  agricultural  pro- 
ducts ;  and  after  1860  abandoning  his  position  as  station  agent,  he 
devoted  his  whole  attention  to  this  line  of  business,  in  which  he 
did  so  well  that  in  a  few  years  he  had  secured  a  competency,  and, 
with  the  leisure  which  was  thus  procured,  he  found  his  thoughts 
reverting  to  the  possibility  of  improving  the  accommodations  for 
travellers,  and  one  of  the  first  practical  thoughts  which  his  mind 
evolved  was  the  idea  of  sleeping-cars. 

Knowing  the  value  of  time  to  business  men,  and  the  fact  that 
after  a  long  night-journey  in  the  old-fashioned  cars,  with  no  possi- 
bility of  lying  down  or  greatly  changing  the  sitting  position,  no 
man  was  in  a  fit  condition,  mentally  or  physically,  to  engage  at 
once  in  business  transactions,  he  concluded  that  the  most  pressing 
need  of  the  times  was  some  kind  of  an  improved  car  for  enabling 
the  traveller  to  repose  comfortably  at  night. 

Having  expended  considerable  thought  on  the  best  form  of  con- 
struction, and  experimenting  with  various  models,  he  secured  the 
co-operation  of  three  other  gentlemen — Messrs.  Morgan  Gardener, 
of  Utica,  and  George  B.  Gates  and  T.  N.  Parmbe,  of  Buffalo ;  and 
together  they  entered  upon  the  manufacture  of  the  Wagner  sleep- 
ing-car. One  thing  Mr.  Wagner  had  not  taken  into  the  account : 
his  arrangement  for  berths  was  very  well  conceived  for  a  first  ex- 
periment ;  but  at  that  time  all  the  cars  were  made  with  low  and 
nearly  flat  roofs,  and  the  air  space  was  thus  very  contracted,  and 
when  Mr.  Wagner's  first  four  cars,  which  had  cost  $800  apiece, 


528  WEBSTER     WAGNER. 

were  put  on  the  night  trains  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad, 
this  defect  became  very  apparent,  though  in  other  respects  giving 
great  satisfaction.  Hon.  Erastus  Corning  was  President  of  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad  at  that  time,  and  was  very  enthusias- 
tic as  to  the  success  of  the  new  cars,  when  proper  ventilation 
should  be  secured. 

To  remedy  the  stifling  atmosphere  of  the  flat-roofed  car,  when 
closed  at  night,  Mr.  Wagner,  in  1859,  projected  the  elevated  car- 
roof,  such  as  is  now  in  almost  universal  use,  and  with  this  enlarged 
space  and  means  of  ventilation,  the  "  sleeping-car "  became  an 
established  fact,  and  the  travelling  public  wondered  why  such  a 
simple  device  should  not  have  been  thought  of  before.  With  a 
generosity  not  often  equalled,  Mr.  Wagner  declined  to  patent  his 
elevated  roof  for  railroad  cars,  deeming  them  so  essential  for  the 
comfort  of  travellers,  that  he  would  not  put  the  slightest  hindrance 
in  the  way  of  their  universal  adoption.  Of  course  other  improve- 
ments were  gradually  introduced,  and  the  whole  arrangements  are 
far  more  luxurious  and  costly  than  the  first  invention  ;  instead  of 
eight  hundred  dollar  sleeping-cars,  those  which  are  used  on  this 
same  road  now  cost  more  than  double  that  sum. 
-  One  useful  invention  in  a  given  direction  is  often  suggestive  of 
others  of  a  collateral  nature.  The  sleeping-car  had  scarcely  be- 
come fully  established  and  adopted  in  general  practice,  than  Mr. 
Wagner  resolved  to  do  something  for  the  increased  comfort  of 
day  travel ;  and  the  result  of  his  cogitations  was  the  drawing-room 
or  palace-car.  This  was  welcomed  as  eagerly  as  the  sleeping-car 
had  been,  and  on  all  the  popular  lines  of  travel  they  are  now  used 
as  extensively  as  the  more  common  kind;  sometimes  the  majority 
of  the  cars  on  a  long  train  will  be  of  the  better  class.  A  return  to 
the  old  system  and  old  style  of  cars  would  be  impossible  on  any 
line  in  the  United  States  which  has  once  used  the  improved  cars 
invented  by  Webster  Wagner.  With  the  new  style  of  construc- 
tion has  likewise  grown  the  taste  for  fine  upholstery  and  interior 
decoration  ;  aesthetically  toned  glass  takes  the  place  of  plain  lights; 


WEBSTER     WAGNER.  529 

curtains  and  carpets  correspond,  while  pivoted  reclining  chairs  en- 
able the  most  nervous  traveller  to  adjust  himself  comfortably  in 
half  a  dozen  different  positions ;  dressing  and  dining-room  cars 
followed  in  natural  sequence  the  original  invention.  In  this  coun- 
try when  once  the  question  of  considering  a  traveller's  comfort  was 
broached,  and  the  idea  ignored  that  all  a  railroad  company  had  to 
do  was  to  get  its  passengers  to  their  destination,  it  became  certain 
that  no  limit  short  of  absolute  luxury  would  see  the  end  of  im- 
proved car  fittings. 

From  active  business  to  active  politics  is  a  metamorphosis  which 
takes  place  so  frequently  as  to  excite  no  particular  surprise,  and 
the  readiness  with  which  it  was  accomplished,  and  the  ability  in 
statesmanship  so  frequently  displayed  in  the  halls  of  State  legisla- 
tion, and  even  in  Congress,  by  non-professional  members,  shows 
that  there  is  something  in  the  education,  or  in  the  social  atmos- 
phere of  the  average  American  youth  which  develops  the  intel- 
lect in  a  broad  and  useful  manner,  susceptible  of  being  turned  in 
many  different  directions.  In  1870  Mr.  Wagner  received  the 
nomination  of  the  Republican  party  in  his  county  for  Representa- 
tive to  the  Assembly,  and  was  elected  by  a  small  majority  of  only 
two  hundred  votes.  That  his  course  was  satisfactory  to  his  con- 
stituents is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  next  year  he 
was  chosen  to  represent  the  Fifteenth  Senatorial. District,  and  was 
returned  by  a  majority  of  over  three  thousand,  and,  at  the  end  of 
the  term,  he  was  re-elected  by  a  joint  movement  of  the  citizens, 
no  opposition  candidate  appearing,  or  only  nominally  so.  He 
was  successively  re-elected  at  every  session  from  that  time  till  the 
period  of  his  premature  death. 

In  the  Republican  Convention  held  in  Chicago  in  1880  Mr. 
Wagner  was  a  delegate,  and  was  one  of  the  renowned  seventeen 
delegates  from  the  State  of  New  York  who  opposed  the  "  third- 
term  "  movement,  and  consequently  instrumental  in  securing  the 
nomination  of  James  A.  Garfield  for  the  Presidency.  He  has  al- 
ways acted  with  the  Republican  party  since  its  organization,  and. 
34 


530 


WEBSTER    WAGNER. 


either  in  the  House  or  in  the  Senate,  has  always  been  a  working 
member,"  serving  on  many  committees,  and  conspicuous  there  for 
the  same  sound  common  sense  and  penetration  as  always  marked 
his  business  transactions  ;  he  was  serving  as  chairman  of  the  com- 
5  mittee  on  railroads  at  the  time  of  the  fearful  accident  which  cut 
short  his  career.  From  the  length  of  time  during  which  he  had 
held  his  seat  in  the  upper  House,  Mr.  Wagner  had  obtained  the 
sobriquet  of  "  the  Father  of  the  Senate." 

On  the  1 3th  of  January,  1882,  as  Mr.  Wagner,  in  company  with 
several  other  members  of  the  Legislature,  was  returning  from 
Albany  to  his  home  by  the  Hudson  River  Railroad,  a  collision 
occurred,  resulting  in  a  fearful  disaster,  involving  great  loss  of  life; 
and,  to  add  to  the  horror  of  the  situation,  the  cars  took  fire.  An 
eye-witness  thus  relates  the  story:  "Mr.  Wagner  fell  a  victim  to 
his  vigilance  and  anxiety  for  the  safety  of  his  companions.  If  not 
a  case  of  self-immolation  for  others,  it  was  clearly  an  instance  of 
martyrdom  suffered  in  trying  to  secure  the  safety  of  his  friends, 
for,  if  he  had  not  gone  back  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  trouble, 
and  if  possible  remedy  it,  he  would  have  escaped."  It  seems  that 
he  had  been  sitting,  with  some  twenty  other  senators  and  politi- 
cians from  Albany,  in  the  smoking-car,  but  had  left  it  temporarily 
when  the  collision  occurred ;  not  at  first  aware  of  its  serious 
nature,  he  hastened  to  see  if  his  companions  were  endangered, 
became  involved  in  the  ruin  of  the  wrecked  car — inextricably 
jammed  in  the  debris — and,  before  help  could  be  secured  for  him 
or  others,  he  was  crushed  and  burned  beyond  recognition,  save  by 
his  watch  and  some  other  indestructible  substances  about  him  by 
which  his  body  was  identified.  Amid  the  general  feeling  of  horror 
which  the  news  of  this  catastrophe  aroused,  there  was  no  one  of  the 
victims  for  which  such  universal  regret  and  commiseration  was  felt 
as  for  Senator  Wagner.  It  seemed  indeed  a  hard  fate  that  a  man 
who  had  given  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  securing  the  comfort  of 
the  travelling  public  should  be  destined  to  be  immolated  in  one  of 
his  own  luxurious  cars.  In  New  York,  where  the  senator  had  a 


WEBSTER     WAGNER.  53! 

city  residence,  the  feeling  was  intense ;  but  at  Palatine  Bridge, 
where  he  was  personally  known  to  every  inhabitant,  and  where  many 
remembered  him  from  his  earliest  boyhood,  his  sudden  and  shock- 
ing death  was  mourned  as  for  a  near  and  dear  relative ;  business 
was  everywhere  spontaneously  suspended;  flags  were  at  half-mast, 
and  many  houses  draped  in  mourning. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  accident  Senator  Wagner's  body 
had  been  forwarded  to  New  York ;  but  on  the  1 7th  instant  it  was 
conveyed,  by  a  large  and  honorable  deputation  of  mourning  friends 
and  official  representatives,  to  the  site  of  his  birthplace,  where  the 
funeral  obsequies  took  place,  the  interment  being  made  in  the 
Lutheran  Cemetery.  Besides  the  beautiful  country  residence 
occupied  by  Senator  Wagner's  family  at  Palatine  Bridge,  part  of 
the  year  was  spent  at  their  elegant  house  in  New  York,  located  in 
Forty-fourth  street,  between  Fifth  avenue  and  Broadway ;  he  left 
a  widow,  one  son,  Mr.  Norman  Wagner,  and  four  daughters — a 
very  united  family.  Senator  Wagner  was  about  sixty-five  years  old 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  tall,  broad-shouldered  and  in  good  health, 
which  appeared  to  give  promise  of  many  years  of  usefulness  yet  to 
come;  his  prompt  movements  and  genial  manner  were  far  more 
suggestive  of  the  full  maturity  of  mental  power  than  of  any  approach 
to  old  age.  One  of  the  most  gratifying  features  of  those  sad  days 
intervening  between  Mr.  Wagner's  death  and  the  funeral  was  the 
genuine  grief  displayed  by  the  workmen  and  others  employed  by 
him.  He  was  kind  and  just  to  them,  and  they  knew  how  to  ap- 
preciate his  worth.  His  estate  was  valued  at  over  $2,000,000.  It 
is  some  satisfaction  to  know  that  Mr.  Wagner's  death  was  not 
altogether  fruitless  for  the  travelling  community.  Soon  after  the 
collision  at  Spuyten  Duyvil  the  three  railroad  companies  whose 
lines  converge  into  the  Grand  Central  Depot  at  New  York  began 
the  application  of  a  system  of  safety-signals  and  switches,  but  re- 
cently completed,  by  which  the  possibility  of  accident  appears 
reduced  to  a  minimum. 


MOSES   TAYLOR. 

IF  Moses  Taylor  had  never  done  anything  else  than  made  his 
gift  of  a  hospital  for  the  benefit  of  the  laborers  on  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad  and  the  Delaware  Iron  and 
Coal  Company,  he  would  have  deserved  recognition  here,  for 
probably  no  large  class  of  men  in  the  country  were  more  in  need 
of  such  an  institution  than  these  miners  and  railroad  men.  If  we 
were  discussing  questions  of  political  economy,  or  the  practical 
humanities  of  modern  life,  it  might  be  pertinent  to  ask  whether  it 
would  not  be  better  for  the  great  corporations  to  pay  their  laborers 
living  wages  than  to  build  hospitals  for  them  ?  but  this  is  not  the 
place  to  consider  such  queries,  and  if  the  one  is  neglected,  so  much 
the  greater  need  for  the  other.  But  Moses  Taylor's  reputation  as 
a  recognized  factor  in  New  York  life  was  made  long  before  the 
Scranton  Hospital  was  thought  of. 

Moses  Taylor  was  of  English  stock  ;  his  great-grandfather  of 
the  same  name  came  to  New  York  from  London  in  1736,  nearly 
150  years  ago,  and  commenced  business  on  very  nearly  the  same 
spot  where  the  late  Moses  had  his  office  for  over  forty  years. 

Young  Taylor  was  a  merchant  born,  and  early  showed  those 
qualities  which  lead  to  success.  He  commenced  his  independent 
business  career  after  a  long  apprenticeship  as  clerk  at  55  South 
street,  afterwards  removing  to  No.  44.  It  was  a  very  unfor- 
tunate year  for  a  new  enterprise.  The  cholera  was  raging  as  an 
epidemic  during  that  summer  in  New  York ;  business  was  in  con- 
sequence excessively  depressed,  thousands  fled  from  the  city,  but 
Mr.  Taylor  courageously  stood  by  his  infant  business,  came  un- 
scathed out  of  the  ordeal,  and  made  a  fairly  profitable  year  under 
the  great  disadvantage.  Three  years  more  of  prosperity  awaited 
(532) 


MOSES     TAYLOR.  533 

him,  and  then  a  great  disaster.  The  fire  of  1835  extended  to  his 
store  and  swept  it  out  of  sight,  only  his  account  books  and  a  few 
papers  being  saved.  For  a  moment  he  felt  himself  a  ruined  man, 
but  his  natural  energy  soon  buoyed  him  up,  and  the  next  day,  not 
finding  a  fitting  place  to  hire,  he  opened  his  office  in  the  basement 
of  his  residence,  on  Morris  street,  resuming  business  at  once.  As 
soon  as  practicable  he  procured  an  office  in  Broad  street,  while  his 
new  store  was  building  in  South  street,  the  contract  for  which  he 
had  made  the  day  after  the  fire,  and  which  he  occupied  as  soon  as 
completed,  never  making  any  change  of  location.  His  was  one 
of  the  first  stores  rebuilt. 

From  the  commencement  of  his  business  career,  Mr.  Taylor  had 
deposited  with  the  City  Bank,  and  in  1855  he  was  elected  its  presi- 
dent. He  was  no  mere  figure-head,  as  so  many  bank  presidents 
are ;  he  took  an  active  share  in  its  management,  using  the  same 
care,  skill  and  sagacity  which  distinguished  his  methods  in  his  pri- 
vate affairs.  This  was  evidenced  during  the  financial  panic  of 
1857,  when  there  was  an  unprecedented  run  on  nearly  every  bank 
in  the  city.  The  bankers  called  a  meeting  to  discuss  the  situation 
and  to  organize  for  protection ;  meeting  after  business  hours,  the 
representative  of  each  bank  was  called  upon  to  state  the  amount 
of  loss  in  its  reserved  specie ;  the  several  gentlemen  reported 
drafts  of  from  fifty  to  ninety  per  cent.  When  Mr.  Taylor  was 
called  upon,  he  replied :  "  We  had  in  the  City  Bank  this  morning 
$400,000  ;  to-night  we  have  $480,000."  During  Mr.  Taylor's  presi- 
dency the  late  Commodore  Vanderbilt  deposited  with  the  City 
Bank,  and  it  is  said  often  tried  to  induce  the  president  to  enter 
into  some  of  his  grand  speculations,  but  never  could  induce  Moses 
Taylor  to  invest  a  cent  in  any  of  his  projects.  The  explanation  is 
that  each  of  the  two  men  was  too  big  to  be  yoked :  each  wanted 
to  drive. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  quite  a  contrast  to  some  of  his  cotemporaries 
on  the  road  to  wealth ;  like  William  E.  Dodge,  for  instance,  who 
was  connected  with  almost  every  religious  and  charitable  institu- 


^4  MOSES     TAYLOR. 

tion  in  the  city,  Moses  Taylor  was  no  indiscriminate  giver,  nor 
did  he  assist  materially  the  popular  organized  charities  of  the  day, 
but  individual  cases,  particularly  those  young  merchants  in  need, 
he  was  ready  to  assist,  if  their  record  was  clear,  and  their  capacity 
sufficient  to  warrant  their  remaining  in  business  for  themselves. 
When  he  was  a  young  man  he  was  himself  at  one  time  indebted  to 
John  Jacob  Astor  for  assistance  to  tide  him  over  an  embarrass- 
ment, and  he  never  forgot  it ;  indeed,  on  account  of  his  father 
being  in  the  employment  of  the  wealthy  fur-trader  and  great  real 
estate  owner,  led  many  to  believe  that  Mr.  Astor  was  a  sort  of 
domestic  bank,  upon  which  young  Taylor  could  draw  at  pleasure  ; 
this  was  far  from  being  the  case,  but  it  helped  his  credit  amazingly. 

There  were  two  occasions,  however,  in  which  Mr.  Taylor  put 
out  his  money,  which  must  fairly  be  attributed  to  broad-minded, 
far-seeing,  and  not  altogether  selfish  motives.  The  first  of  these 
was  his  financial  aid  to  the  projectors  of  the  Atlantic  cable.  He 
was  one  of  the  five  incorporators,  and  its  treasurer  from  the  first 
organization  of  the  company  in  1854  until  1873,  and  during  all  the 
years  of  its  early  misfortunes  and  disasters  stood  by  it  manfully, 
with  faith,  courage,  sympathy  and  money.  His  indignation  was 
intense  when  some  one  ventured,  in  his  presence,  to  express  a 
doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  the  first  message  received  from  Eng- 
land. Mr.  Taylor  had  never  failed  in  any  of  his  business  enter- 
prises ;  and  he  could  not  believe  that  anything  with  which  he  was 
connected  could  eventually  fail  to  succeed. 

When  he  next  came  to  the  front  it  was  as  a  patriot,  furnishing 
the  sinews  of  war  to  the  government.  At  the  very  commence- 
ment of  hostilities  he  took  a  decided  stand  as  to  the  duty  of  banks 
in  the  premises.  So  early  as  April,  1861,  he  assisted  in  organ- 
izing the  "Loan  Committee  of  the  Clearing  House  Association," 
and  became  its  chairman,  in  which  position  he  was  able  to  exert  a 
wide  influence  in  favor  of  the  Union's  cause.  He  was  in  politics  a 
Democrat,  which  was  a  favorable  circumstance,  as  he  was  thus 
enabled  to  show  that  some  of  the  most  influential  of  that  party  had 


MOSES     TAYLOR.  535 

no  lot  or  fellowship  with  that  interpretation  of  "  States'  Rights " 
which  led  to  secession  ;  previous,  however,  to  the  war,  he  had  taken 
no  active  part  in  politics,  being  too  fully  occupied  with  his  business 
affairs;  but  when  the  crisis  came  he  was  fully  alive  to  the  duties 
of  his  position,  as  a  man  of  wealth  and  social  influence.  He  fa- 
vored the  loaning  of  money  by  the  banks  to  the  government,  and 
sacrificed  his  own  affairs  to  attend  to  the  details  of  arranging  such 
loans.  At  the  solicitation  of  President  Lincoln  and  Secretary 
Chase  he  made  several  journeys  to  Washington,  to  consult  with 
them  and  the  Finance  Committees  of  Congress.  Probably  no  in- 
dividual (with  the  exception  of  Jay  Cooke)  did  more  than  Mr. 
Taylor  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  United  States  during  the  first 
two  years  of  the  war. 

He  was  early  connected  with  the  efforts  to  develop  the  great 
coal-bearing  region  of  northern  Pennsylvania,  being  interested  in 
the  Lackawanna  Iron  and  Coal  Companies,  and  somewhat  later 
bought  largely  of  the  depressed  stock  of  the  Delaware,  Lacka^ 
wanna  &  Western  Railroad.  After  the  monetary  panic,  in  1857, 
this  stock  fell  to  $5  per  share ;  Mr.  Taylor  had  faith  in  the  future 
of  the  road,  and  bought  this  stock,  and  he  kept  it  seven  years, 
when  it  rose  to  $240.  In  1858  he  became  a  Director  of  the 
Lackawanna  Iron  &  Coal  Company;  and  when  Mr.  Joseph  H. 
Scranton  died  (in  1872),  Mr.  Taylor  was  elected  president.  An- 
other investment,  which  proved  exceedingly  profitable,  was  the 
purchase  of  Manhattan  Gas  Company  stock;  when  Mr.  Taylor* 
bought  this  it  was  very  low,  between  "thirty"  and  "forty;"  it  was 
really  worth  more,  its  depreciation  having  been  caused  by  bad 
management;  but  Mr.  Taylor  having  secured  a  controlling  interest, 
he  brought  about  immediate  reforms,  and  infused  so  much  energy 
into  the  concern  that  good  dividends  soon  gladdened  the  hearts  of 
the  other  stockholders,  while  he  made  a  respectable  fortune  out 
of  it.  His  "  Georgia  Central  "  Railroad  stock  was  also  a  source 
of  profit ;  he  was  for  some  time  connected  with  the  Philadelphia  & 
Reading  Railroad,  but  not  approving  the  management,  withdre\Y- 


536  MOSES    TAYLOR. 

The  only  road,  we  believe,  which  ever  defaulted  on  its  interest,  of 
which  he  was  an  officer,  was  the  "  International,"  a  road  running 
from  Sherbrook,  Canada,  to  Lake  Megantic,  in  the  State  of  Maine. 
He  was  a  Director  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
The  Farmers'  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  and  some  others. 

Moses  Taylor  married,  in  1832,  Miss  Catharine  Wilson,  a 
daughter  of  the  well-known  ship-bread  and  cracker  baker  on  Ful- 
ton street,  New  York.  The  eldest  son,  George,  had  resided  some 
years  in  England ;  the  second  son,  Robert  Winthrop,  was  a  junior 
partner  in  his  father's  business.  There  are  two  daughters,  both 
married.  Mr.  Taylor's  death  occurred  on  May  23d,  1882,  his 
widow  and  four  children  surviving  him.  His  estate  was  enor- 
mous :  between  $45,000,000  and  $50,000,000,  and  principally  con- 
sisted of  stocks  and  bonds ;  as  a  friend  remarked,  "  he  had  very 
little  real  estate,  not  over  $3,000,000." 

The  sum  which  Mr.  Taylor  bequeathed  for  a  hospital,  to  be 
built  at  Scranton,  was  $250,000  in  first  mortgage  bonds  of  the 
Delaware,  Lacka wanna  &  Western  Railroad;  the  real  value  is  about 
$270,000.  The  trustees  of  this  fund  are  President  Edwin  F.  Hat- 
field,  of  the  Lackawanna  Iron  &  Coal  Company,  and  President 
Sloan,  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad.  It  will 
be  known  as  the  "  Moses  Taylor  Hospital."  The  need  of  a  hos- 
pital was  particularly  felt  at  Scranton  on  account  of  the  numerous 
accidents  to  the  men  and  boys  employed  in  the  mines,  and  the 
•  laborers  on  the  railroad.  The  building  is  now  in  process  of  erec- 
tion on  lands  owned  by  the  Lackawanna  Iron  &  Coal  Company. 


ASA  PACKER. 


ASA  PACKER. 

IN  the  long  list  of  the  names  of  men  who  have  achieved  financial 
greatness  solely  by  their  own  tireless  energy  and  indomitable 
courage  few  stand  forth  more  significantly  and  prominently  than 
that  of  Asa  Packer.  The  vast  wealth  of  which  he  died  possessed 
came. to  him  not  as  the  result  of  blind  chance  or  of  fortuitous  cir- 
cumstances, but  as  the  result  of  painstaking,  wisely-directed  effort, 
and  changeless  constancy  to  a  specific  purpose ;  it  was  the  result 
of  a  life-struggle  in  which  labor,  intensified  as  difficulties  multi- 
plied, at  last  conquered  all  things. 

It  is  the  crowning  glory  of  this  vast  success,  that  while  it  was 
achieved  in  fields  of  enterprise  in  which  as  many  reputations  have 
been  wrecked  as  fortunes  won,  no  taint  of  dishonesty  or  indirec- 
tion mars  its  completeness.  It  was  a  fortune  honestly  gained  ;  no 
legislatures  were  bought  and  no  markets  "cornered,  bulled,  or 
beared."  The  great  power  which  it  gave  him  was  never  used  for 
the  ruin  or  oppression  of  others,  but  solely  for  the  welfare  of  his 
fellow-men.  No  juster  eulogium  was  ever  bestowed  upon  a  just 
man  than  that  with  which  the  name  of  Asa  Packer  was  presented 
to  the  Democratic  National  Convention  of  1868  as  the  candidate 
of  Pennsylvania  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

In  bringing  his  name  before  the  convention,  the  late  Judge 
Woodward  of  Pennsylvania  said:  "If  our  candidate  has  not  filled 
the  noisy  trump  of  fame,  these  are  the  trophies  which  he  has  won 
in  the  battle  of  life :  He  has  not  gashed  the  bosom  of  the  earth 
to  make  millions  of  graves  for  his  fellow-men,  but  he  has  given 
employment  to  the  idle,  homes  to  the  homeless,  bread  to  the 
hungry,  and  clothing  to  the  naked.  He  has  not  filled  the  land 
with  widows  and  orphans,  but  widows  and  orphans  have  shared 

(537) 


ASA     PACKER. 


his  bounties,  and  the  blessings  of  the  widow's  God  have  descended 
upon  his  basket  and  his  store." 

This  life,  so  singularly  crowned  with  fortune  and  with  honor, 
began  in  December,  1804,  in  the  then  little  village  of  Mystic,  Con- 
necticut. Asa  Packer's  paternal  grandfather  was  Elisha  Packer, 
then  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  that  section,  and  whose 
industries  seem  to  have  been  as  various  as  those  of  his  grandson 
were  destined  to  become,  for  he  was  not  only  a  farmer,  but  a 
tanner  and  shoemaker. 

The  father  of  Asa  Packer  was  Elisha  Packer,  Jr.,  who,  although 
inheriting  the  industry  of  the  family  and  a  full  share  of  intelligence, 
was  so  lacking  in  some  quality  of  tact  or  energy,  that  he  never 
became  successful  in  business  affairs. 

To  the  grandfather,  then,  those  who  would  seek  an  illustration 
of  the  laws  of  heredity,  must  look  as  the  source  of  those  qualities 
which  in  after  years  made  the  grandson  so  signally  a  favorite  of 
fortune. 

The  want  of  business  success  on  the  part  of  the  father  early  in 
life  threw  Asa  upon  his  own  resources,  and  when  still  very  young 
he  obtained  employment  in  the  tannery  of  Elias  Smith,  of  North 
Stonington,  Connecticut,  midway  between  which  town  and  New 
London  Mystic  is  situated.  Here  his  industry  and  probity  soon 
won  him  a  place  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  employer. 
This  connection,  however,  was  soon  terminated  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Smith,  and  Asa  then  entered  the  employment  of  one  John 
Brown,  a  farmer,  in  whose  service  he  continued  until  his  removal 
to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Asa  becoming  satisfied  that  there 
was  for  him  but  small  chance  of  arriving  at  success  or  achieving 
distinction  in  Connecticut,  determined  to  seek  his  fortune  in  an- 
other field.  The  direction  of  this  movement  was  determined  by 
the  fact  that  a  brother  of  his  father  had  removed  from  Connecticut 
to  Dimeck  Cross  Roads,  an  obscure  village  in  Susquehanna 
county,  Pennsylvania.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  Asa  resolved  to 
join  him. 


ASA     PACKER. 


539 


The  long  jpurney  was  made  on  foot,  and  was  attended  with 
many  hardships.  His  sole  earthly  possessions  were  a  few,  very 
few,  dollars  in  his  pocket,  the  savings  of  his  small  earnings  as  a 
farmer,  and  a  scanty  outfit  of  clothing,  carried  in  a  knapsack 
strapped  to  his  back.  But  he  had  that  which  after  all  is  a  man's 
best  capital  in  the  business  of  life — youth,  courage,  integrity,  and 
that  vigorous  frame  and  robust  health  which  his  life  of  enforced 
toil  had  secured  to  him.  Arrived  at  his  journey's  end,  he  received 
in  the  humble  home  of  his  uncle  a  most  kind  and  affectionate  wel- 
come. Still  his  prospects  were  but  gloomy ;  he  was  without  a 
trade  or  profession,  and  dependent  upon  his  own  unskilled  and 
untrained  hands  for  a  livelihood.  Acting  upon  the  wise  advice  of 
his  uncle,  he  became  an  indentured  apprentice  to  a  carpenter  and 
joiner,  and  at  the  end  of  three  years,  at  which  time  he  had  attained 
his  majority,  he  had  well  mastered  his  trade.  This  as  a  vocation 
he  followed  but  for  a  short  time ;  in  fact,  only  long  enough  to 
obtain  a  little  capital,  with  which  he  removed  to  the  city  of  New 
York,  which  then,  even  in  a  higher  degree  than  now,  was  the  goal 
of  nearly  every  ambitious  American  youth.  At  the  expiration  of 
a  year  Asa  returned  to  Susquehanna  county,  poorer  in  pocket — 
if  richer  in  experience.  This  apparent  restlessness  of  disposition 
finds  an  adequate  explanation  in  the  fact  that  he  had  fallen  deeply 
in  love  with  the  pretty  daughter  of  his  neighbor,  Mr.  Joseph 
Blakslee,  a  poor  pioneer  farmer ;  and  the  inspiration  of  the  New 
York  experiment  was  the  desire  to  speedily  earn  a  sufficient  sum 
of  money  to  marry  and  maintain  the  woman  of  his  choice. 

Poor  as  they  both  were,  they  determined  no  longer  to  delay  their 
union.  It  was  a  true  marriage,  a  joining,  not  only  of  hands,  but 
of  hearts.  Asa  Packer  was  then  twenty-three  years  of  age.  Fifty 
years  subsequently,  in  January,  1878,  in  his  beautiful  and  pictur- 
esquely situated  vrlla  at  Mauch  Chunk,  was  celebrated  the  golden 
anniversary  of  this  his  most  happy  union  with  one  whose  wifely 
tenderness  and  womanly  devotion  sustained  him  in  all  the  hard 
trials  which  it  was  his  destiny  to  face  before  assured  success  was 
won. 


540  ASA     PACKER. 

On  a  small  farm,  leased  from  Mr.  Blakslee,  his  wife's  father,  the 
newly-wedded  pair  began  the  hard  life  of  pioneer  farmers,  the 
scanty  subsistence  thus  gained  being  eked  out  by  occasional  work 
at  his  trade ;  land  was  cleared,  a  small  home  built  and  a  little 
money  saved.  In  the  year  1833  came  the  turning-point  in  his 
career.  The  Lehigh  canal  had  been  completed,  and  the  company 
was  waiting  only  for  the  opening  of  spring  to  begin  traffic.  Mr. 
Packer  learned  that  boatmen  were  wanted  to  take  through  the 
canal-boats  loaded  with  coal,  and  he  at  once  offered  himself  for  the 
service,  and  was  accepted.  Leasing  his  farm  in  Susquehanna 
county,  he  removed  to  Mauch  Chunk  and  took  charge  of  one  of 
the  first  boats  sent  through  the  canal  to  Philadelphia. 

He  had  at  last  found  his  opportunity,  and  was  not  slow  to  avail 
himself  of  it.  With  four  hundred  dollars  which  he  had  managed 
to  save  he  bought  a  canal-boat  and  became  its  master.  Other 
boats  were  purchased,  in  whole  or  in  part.  His  trade  as  a  car- 
penter and  joiner  enabled  him  to  engage  in  the  building  of  canal- 
boats  ;  and  he  also  took  large  contracts  for  the  construction  of 
locks  upon  the  upper  Lehigh. 

Among  the  most  important  ventures  made  about  this  time  was 
the  purchase  of  a  small  store  in  Mauch  Chunk,  in  which,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother,  he  engaged  in  business  under  the  firm-name 
of  A.  &  R.  W.  Packer.  The  cash  capital  of  the  firm  was  the  modest 
sum  of  $5,000,  part  of  which  had  been  furnished  by  an  uncle.  The 
firm  not  only  engaged  in  a  general  merchandising  business,  such 
as  is  common  in  country  stores,  but  also  took  contracts  for  the 
erection  of  locks  and  dams,  and  engaged  in  the  working  of  coal 
mines  leased  from  the  Lehigh  Company.  Ultimately,  the  firm  was 
able  to  purchase  and  operate  the  celebrated  Hazleton  mine,  from 
which  coal  was  shipped  both  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 

In  1838  the  Packers  entered  into  a  contract  with  Stockton  & 
Stevens,  of  New  Jersey,  to  build  boats  at  Pottsville  for  the  direct 
transportation  of  coal  to  New  York  by  the  new  canal.  It  is  re- 
corded, as  a  somewhat  odd  coincidence,  that  the  first  load  of  coal. 


ASA     PACKER.  541 

to  reach  New  York  direct  by  the  new  route  was  brought  upon  a 
beat  named  "  Sivius,"  and  that  the  "  Sivius  "  from  Pottsville  ar- 
rived in  New  York  bay  in  the  same  hour  with  the  "  Sivius  "  from 
Liverpool — the  first  transatlantic  steamer  which  ever  entered  New 
York  harbor.  Thus  together  were  two  leading  factors  in  the 
growth  and  popularity  of  the  great  metropolis  set  in  operation.  i 

In  all  the  transactions  thus  far  recorded  Mr.  Packer  had  been 
eminently  successful,  and  the  year  1850  found  him  in  the  highest 
degree  prosperous.  But  he  now  entered  upon  an  undertaking 
which  was  destined  to  tax  his  financial  resources  to  the  uttermost 
and  put  his  courage,  fortitude  and  determination  to  tests  from 
which  few  but  he  could  have  come  forth  triumphant.  The  Lehigh 
Valley  Railroad,  which,  under  the  management  of  Asa  Packer,  was 
destined  to  play  so  important  a  part  in  the  development  of  the 
magnificent  mineral  resources  of  that  section,  had  been  chartered 
in  1846,  but  not  a  tie  had  been  laid  or  a  spike  driven..  In  October, 
1851,  when  but  seventeen  days  of  the  limit  specified  in  the  charter 
for  beginning  the  road  remained,  Asa  Packer  secured  a  controlling 
portion  of  the  stock,  and  submitted  a  proposition  to  build  forty-six 
miles  of  the  road,  from  Mauch  Chunk  on  the  Lehigh  to  Easton  on 
the  Delaware,  receiving  the  stock  and  bonds  of  the  company  in 
payment. 

This  contract  was  carried  through  to  completion  under  the  most 
severe  financial  embarrassments.  Commodore  Stockton,  with 
whom  he  had  been  so  intimately  associated  in  various  business 
enterprises,  and  between  whom  and  himself  existed  a  most  endur- 
ing friendship,  proved  in  the  emergency  a  friend  indeed ;  the  com- 
modore came  forward  with  most  liberal  subscriptions,  and,  through 
their  combined  influence,  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  Company,  and 
many  other  rich  -corporations,  were  induced  to  extend  financial  aid 
to  the  enterprise. 

Thus  aided,  the  task  was  accomplished,  and  on  September  4th, 
1855,  the  road,  completed  from  Mauch  Chunk  to  Easton,  was 
formally  transferred  to  the  company.  All  interested  in  its  con- 


542  ASA     PACKER. 

struction,  however,  were  deeply  in  debt.  The  stock  which  had 
been  received  in  payment  for  the  building  of  the  road  was  appar- 
ently worthless,  and  for  a  long  time  it  seemed  probable  that  this 
enterprise  would  result  in  Mr.  Packer's  financial  ruin ;  but,  by 
herculean  exertions,  he  was  enabled  to  struggle  through,  emerging 
triumphantly  from  his  difficulties.  The  once  worthless  stock 
rapidly  increased  in  value,  and  he  became  president  and  princi- 
pal owner  of  the  road  in  the  building  of  which  he  had  risked 
his  entire  fortune. 

The  line,  originally  so  short  and  relatively  unimportant,  rapidly 
extended  its  ramifications  and  connections ;  it  became  the  chief 
avenue  of  traffic  for  the  whole  anthracite  coal  region  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, carrying  that  product,  as  well  as  iron,  slate  and  lumber,  to 
the  seaboard,  and,  through  its  connections,  to  all  the  leading  com- 
mercial centres  of  the  country.  It  was  his  controlling  interest  in 
this  mighty  traffic  which  made  Asa  Packer  the  richest  man  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  his  fortune  at  the  time  of  his  death  being 
variously  estimated  at  from  fifteen  to  twenty  millions  of  dollars. 
During  this  long  period  of  absorbing  business  activity  he  had  not, 
as  is  too  often  the  case  with  men  of  wealth  in  the  United  States, 
been  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  amassing  of  money  is  not  the 
sole  duty  of  a  citizen  of  a  free  commonwealth.  At  the  call  of  his 
fellow-citizens  he  devoted  no  inconsiderable  share  of  his  life  to  the 
performance  of  political  and  civic  duties.  In  1843  he  was  elected 
Associate-Judge  of  Carbon  county,  which  position  he  filled  with 
dignity  and  ability  for  the  period  of  five  years.  Owing  to  his  service 
upon  the  bench  he  was  subsequently  always  known  by  the  title  of 
Judge  Packer.  Previous  to  this  he  had  served  for  several  terms 
in  the  State  Legislature. 

From  1853  to  1857  he  served  two  consecutive  terms  as  Con- 
gressman from  the  Thirteenth  District  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1868, 
as  already  stated,  he  was  the  choice,  for  the  Presidency,  of  the 
Democratic  State  delegation  in  the  National  Democratic  Conven- 
tion. His  nomination  being  found  impossible,  the  State  delegation 


ASA     PACKER.  543 

reluctantly  dropped  his  name  and  took  up  that  of  Major-Gen eral 
Hancock,  only  to  be  again  defeated,  the  nomination  being  gained 
by  Governor  Seymour  of  New  York. 

In  1869  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  but  notwithstanding  his  personal  popularity 
he  was  defeated  by  his  Republican  opponent,  Governor  Geary. 
This  event  terminated  his  active  participation  in  the  politics  of  the 
country,  although  to  the  hour  of  his  death  he  always  remained 
an  ardent  Democrat,  and  from  his  large  means  contributed  liberally 
to  the  funds  of  the  party. 

The  building  and  endowment  of  Lehigh  University,  in  Bethle- 
hem, Pennsylvania,  is  the  act  which  must  chiefly  endear  him  to  the 
present  and  future  generations.  It  was  the  one  great  regret  of 
his  life  that  he  had  not  in  his  youth  secured  a  liberal  education, 
and  it  was  probably  this  sentiment  which  inspired  this  munificent 
provision  for  the  training  of  the  youth  of  the  country.  During  a 
visit  to  Europe  in  1865  he  had  visited  the  mining  schools  of  Ger- 
many, and  immediately  after  his  return  he  made  his  first  contri- 
bution to  the  founding  of  the  school  now  so  intimately  associated 
with  his  name  and  fame.  This  first  gift  was  sixty  acres  of  wood- 
land and  the  sum  of  $500,000.  This  gift  was  subsequently  in- 
creased to  an  extent  sufficient  to  endow  all  the  chairs,  and  thus 
make  instruction  in  the  institution  absolutely  free  to  all  who  chose 
to  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages. 

As  first  projected,  the  school  was  designed  chiefly  for  technical 
instruction  in  railway  construction,  civil  engineering,  mining,  metal- 
lurgy, chemistry  and  agriculture,  but  subsequently  this  plan  was 
modified  and  the  curriculum  of  the  school  enlarged,  so  that  now 
not  only  a  scientific  but  a  thorough  classical  training  may  be  ob- 
tained. Students  have,  however,  still  the  option  of  giving  their 
exclusive  attention  to  general,  synthetical  and  analytical  chemistry, 
mineralogy  and  metallurgy,  analysis  of  soils,  civil,  mining  and 
mechanical  engineering  or  architecture.  Four  years  are  required 
to  pass  through  the  prescribed  course  of  study.  The  first  two 


544 


ASA     PACKER. 


years  are  given  to  that  elementary  instruction  which  is  the  neces- 
sary foundation  for  all  attainment  whether  scientific  or  classical. 
The  last  two  years  are  given  by  the  student  to  the  study  of  those 
particular  branches  required  to  fit  him  for  the  business  or  pro- 
fession he  has  decided  to  follow. 

From  its  inception  Lehigh  University  has  been  highly  success- 
ful, not  simply  in  the  sense  of  pecuniary  prosperity,  but  in  the 
higher  sense  of  practical  educational  results.  "  Founder's  Day  " 
is  celebrated  the  I4th  of  October  each  year.  Throughout  his  long 
life  Judge  Packer  had  enjoyed  robust  health.  Up  to  the  time  of 
his  last  illness  his  tall,  vigorous  form,  well  set  off  by  the  old- 
fashioned  "  s*wallow-tail "  coat  of  blue  cloth  and  brass  buttons,  to 
which  he  clung,  gave  but  little  indication  of  failing  powers.  But 
the  hour  appointed  to  all  men  came  to  him  at  last,  and  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening  of  May  17,  1879,  at  his  residence  in  Phila- 
delphia, after  an  illness  of  three  weeks'  duration,  Asa  Packer  de- 
parted this  life — the  immediate  cause  of  his  death  being  impov- 
erishment of  the  blood,  aggravated  by  a  cold.  His  death  created 
a  profound  impression  throughout  the  State  and  excited  universal 
sorrow  among  all  classes.  His  body  was  immediately  removed  to 
Mauch  Chunk,  where,  on  the  following  Tuesday,  it  was  consigned 
to  its  last  resting-place,  many  of  the  most  eminent  citizens  of  the 
State  acting  as  .pall-bearers.  His  wife,  two  sons  and  one  daughter, 
all  of  adult  years,  survived  him. 

The  last  will  and  testament  of  Asa  Packer  bequeathed  for  the 
permanent  endowment  of  Lehigh  University  the  munificent  sum 
of  $1,500,000,  and  for  the  founding  of  a  library  for  the  university 
the  additional  sum  of  $500,000.  But  the  most  touching  and  char- 
acteristic feature  of  this  instrument  is  the  absolute  loyalty  of  its 
provisions  to  the  woman  who  had  shared  with  him  toil  and  priva- 
tion as  well  as  ease  and  affluence.  By  his  will  he  gave  absolutely 
to  his  widow  such  portions  of  the  estate  as  she  might  select,  and 
the  trustees  were  directed  to  hand  over  to  her  at  any  time  what- 
ever sum  of  money  or  piece  of  property  she  may  demand.  "  My 


ASA     PACKER.  545 

purpose  is,"  said  the  testator,  "  that  she  shall  have  whatever  she 
wishes  out  of  my  estate,  and  all  other  provisions  hereof  are  sub- 
ordinate to  this  one." 

And  so  ended  this  well-spent  life.  In  the  preceding  pages  only 
a  few  of  its  more  salient  features  have  been  glanced  at.  That  he 
gave  munificently  to  public  objects  is  known  to  all  men;  but  few 
know  of  those  innumerable  acts  of  private  charity  which  gave  con- 
stant testimony  to  his  true  benevolence  and  kindness  of  heart.  An 
active  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Communion,  he  built 
and  endowed  many  churches,  not  only  for  his  own  denomination, 
but  for  other  faiths ;  not  forgetting,  however,  in  the  exercise  of 
these  more  public  benefactions  the  divine  injunction,  above  all 
formulas  or  creeds,  to  visit  the  sick,  comfort  him  that  is  afflicted, 
feed  him  who  is  an  hungered,  and  to  him  who  is  thirsty  give  drink. 
And  so  in  the  Great  Day  the  King  shall  surely  say  unto  him: 
"  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as  you  have  done  it  unto  one 
of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  you  have  done  it  unto  me." 
35 


POTTER  PALMER. 

THE  name  of  Palmer  is  as  old  as  the  Crusades ;  the  warriors 
and  pilgrims  returning  from  the  Holy  Land  were  in  the  habit  of 
bringing  pieces  of  palm  with  them  as  a  token  that  they  had  really 
been  as  far  as  Palestine,  and  hence  these  returning  crusaders  or 
pilgrims  early  acquired  the  title  of  "  palmers  " — in  France  such  a 
person  was  called  le  pelerin.  The  first  individual  in  England  who 
received  the  name,  as  we  now  use  a  surname,  was  William  le 
Palmer,  who  went  as  a  crusader  with  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century  :  other  "  palmers  "  also  retained 
this  title  as  a  permanent  name,  conveying  it  to  their  descendants. 
The  Palmers  have  become  widely  scattered  throughout  the  United 
States,  many  of  them,  like  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  being  de- 
scended from  Walter  Palmer,  who  came  to  this  country  with  John 
Endicott  in  1629. 

Walter  Palmer,  after  examining  several  other  localities,  finally 
settled  in  Stonington,  Connecticut,  in  1653,  making  his  homestead 
on  Wequetequock  cove,  where  of  late  years  the  annual  reunion 
of  his  descendants,  and  those  of  his  collateral  relatives,  is  held ; 
these  number  between  six  and  seven  thousand,  including  persons 
of  note  in  the  learned  professions ;  inventors,  discoverers,  mer- 
chants, and  soldiers ;  prominent  among  the  latter  is  the  name  of 
General  U.  S.  Grant,  who  is  a  Palmer  on  the  maternal  side :  one 
of  his  direct  ancestors  having  married  Grace,  a  daughter  of  Walter 
Palmer t of  Stonington.  It  may  be  considered  a  rather  curious 
coincidence  that  General  Grant's  eldest  son,  Colonel  Frederick 
Grant,  married  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer  of  Chicago :  thus 
relinking  the  connection  after  a  lapse  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
years.  With  the  possible  exception  of  Mr.  A.  M.  Palmer,  Mana- 
(546) 


POTTER     PALMER.  547 

ger  of  the  Union  Square  Theatre  in  New  York,  probably  none  of 
the  name  of  the  present  generation  are  known  to  so  many  persons 
in  the  United  States  as  the  genial  proprietor  of  the  "Palmer 
House"  in  the  city  of  Chicago. 

Mr.  Palmer  has  grown  up  with  this  great  city  in  the  West,  and 
has  seen  it  emerge  from  a  straggling  settlement  in  a  slough  to  a 
substantial,  wealthy,  and  prosperous  city  of  over  six  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants ;  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  advo- 
cates for  raising  the  grade  of  the  city,  which  has  added  so  much 
to  the  value  of  real-estate,  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  inhabi- 
tants.' When  this  grand  project  was  first  mooted,  it  was  ridiculed 
by  many,  believed  to  be  impracticable  by  the  majority ;  while  of 
those  who  deemed  it  feasible  many  recoiled  from  the  thought  of 
the  great  expense  involved:  most  people  at  that  time  thought 
Chicago  was  located  in  a  natural  swamp ;  but  the  engineers 
brought  out  the  fact  that  there  was  simply  so  very  solid  a  sub- 
stratum of  rock,  a  few  feet  below  the  surface,  that  the  water  could 
not  percolate  through  it ;  but  even  when  the  engineering  difficul- 
ties were  solved,  it  was  not  thought  that  the  city  could  bear  the 
expense  of  raising  the  whole  grade  at  once.  At  this  time  Mr. 
Palmer's  real-estate  interests  lay  mainly  in  the  southern  portion  of 
the  city ;  he  had  property  then  in  that  section  which  he  said  would 
be  benefited  fifty  thousand  dollars  if  he  could  have  four  feet  more 
in  his  basements,  and  he  would  be  glad  of  a  raise  of  even  six 
inches ;  but  he  magnanimously  added,  "if  this  is  too  great  an  un- 
dertaking for  the  south  division,  do  not  let  the  rest  of  the  city  be 
deprived  of  a  higher  grade  on  that  account." 

To  the  general  community  of  Chicago  Mr.  Palmer  first  became 
known  as  a  member  of  the  great  dry-goods  firm  on  the  corner  of 
State  and  Washington  streets.  This  was  for  years  the  local  point 
for  the  fashionable  promenaders  and  shoppers  of  the  city,  and  not 
only  these,  but  for  all  the  adjoining  country  for  miles  around. 
Here  he  did  an  immensely  large  and  profitable  business,  until  store 
and  goods  were  all  swept  away  in  the  great  fire  of  October  1 1  th, 


548  POTTER    PALMER. 

1871.  After  this  terrible  conflagration,  in  which  Mr.  Palmer  lost 
everything,  except  his  mercantile  credit  and  reputation  for  sound 
dealing  and  thorough  reliability,  he  decided  not  to  recommence 
in  his  old  business ;  having  full  faith  in  the  future  of  Chicago,  he 
consulted  with  friends,  in  and  out  of  the  State,  proposing  with  the 
aid  of  certain  capitalists  to  erect  a  first-class  hotel ;  first-class  in 
every  respect,  such  as  should  be  worthy  of  the  future  as  well  as  of 
the  then  present  demands  of  the  great  railroad  centre  of  the  West. 
A  company  was  formed,  of  which  Mr.  Palmer  became  the  practi- 
cal active  head ;  and  the  result  was  the  erection  of  one  of  the  finest 
hotels  on  the  continent,  possibly  only  one,  in  San  Francisco,  equal- 
ling it.  The  site  was  selected  with  a  view  to  the  accommodation 
of  the  resident  business  community,  as  well  as  of  the  travelling 
public.  Central,  being  on  the  corner  of  State  and  Monroe  streets, 
it  is  convenient  to  all  points  of  interest  usually  sought  out  by  visi- 
tors, except  the  abattoirs.  This  building  covers  an  immense  plot 
of  ground ;  is  seven  stories  in  height,  and  contains  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  rooms.  In  its  construction  two  essential  points  have  been 
considered — safety  and  comfort.  It  is  as  nearly  fire-proof  as 
human  skill  could  design,  and  stands  on  the  score  of  safety  at  the 
head  of  all  the  hotels  in  the  country.  Another  feature  of  the 
"  Palmer  House  "  is  the  choice  given  to  guests,  of  living  on  the 
European  plan  or  frequenting  the  table  d'hote,  both  systems  being 
perfectly  carried  out  in  this  grand  Gasthof.  Another  innovation 
on  the  ordinary  usages  of  hotels  was  his  grading  the  price  of  the 
rooms  according  to  location  and  eligibility.  He  fully  realized  the 
injustice  of  charging  the  same  prices  for  inferior  upper  rooms  as 
for  those  on  the  lower  floors ;  and  in  making  this  new  departure 

11 

he  has  not  only  given  satisfaction  to  his  own  guests,  but  has  been 
so  widely  imitated  by  hotels  elsewhere,  that  we  may  truly  say  he 
inaugurated  a  new  dispensation  in  this  important  particular.  In 
the  conduct  of  this  hotel  Mr.  Palmer's  care  for  his  guests  has  been 
amply  rewarded  financially ;  he  is  believed  by  many  to  be  the  rich- 
est man  in  the  city,  and  has  become  the  owner  of  vast  quantities 


TOTTER     PALMER.  549 

of  real  estate  in  and  outside  of  Chicago.  So  important  a  part  of 
his  business  is  this,  that  an  office  is  maintained  in  the  hotel  exclu- 
sively devoted  to  the  management  of  his  real  estate  interests ;  and 
to  see  the  great  maps  and  diagrams,  exhibiting  his  holdings,  hung 
up  in  this  office  and  scattered  over  the  table,  one  almost  feels  in- 
clined to  ask,  what  is  there  left  for  anybody  else  to  own  ? 

Mr.  Palmer  occupied  until  quite  recently  an  elegant  residence 
on  Forty-seventh  street,  corner  of  Vincennes  avenue,  but  has 
recently  built  a  more  spacious  and  magnificent  home  on  the  "  Lake 
Shore  drive,"  corner  of  Banks,  street.  The  style  is  something,  new 
in  American  architecture ;  there  being  nothing  like  it  in  the  coun- 
try :  it  is  eighty  feet  front,  with  a  depth  of  one  hundred  feet,  and, 
like  most  of  the  grand  residences  in  the  western  cities,  it  has  a 
sufficient  space  of  land  around  it  to  give  it  an  elegant  setting  of 
green  sward,  trees  and  flowers ;  the  lot  in  which  it  stands  meas- 
uring one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  front  by  three  hundred  in  depth. 
Though  of  no  definite  school  of  architecture,  it  may  be  described 
as  a  combination  of  the  castellated  Norman  with  the  Gothic; 
mediaeval  in  its  general  exterior,  but  nothing  is  sacrificed  to  inside 
comfort  and  convenience ;  the  material  of  which  it  is  constructed 
is  principally  Connecticut  brown-stone,  rock-faced,  with  plain  butts 
of  Cleveland  sand-stone.  The  main  building  is  three  stories  high, 
but  sundry  turrets  and  towers  rise  above  this  level,  some  ten,  some 
fifteen  feet,  while  one  grand  square  tower,  surmounted  by  a  round 
tower,  rises  to  a  height  of  seventy  feet  from  the  ground-floor; 
from  this,  which  is  reached  by  a  spiral  stairway,  most  extensive 
views  in  every  direction  are  obtained ;  looking  east,  on  a  clear  day, 
one  with  sharp  eyes  may  see  quite  across  the  lake  to  the  shores 
of  Michigan.  This  main  tower  rises  two  stories  above  the  roof, 
and  on  each  floor  of  it  is  a  room  eighteen  feet  square,  and  around 
its  base  is  a  balcony,  in  which  could  stand  fully  twoscore  persons. 
An  immense  conservatory,  "  where  it  is  always  summer,"  adorns 
the  southern  side  of  the  mansion.  For  a  private  residence  there 
is  the  novelty  of  a  direct  entrance  to  an  elevator  on  one  side  of 


550 


POTTER     PALMER. 


the  vestibule.  This  house,  like  the  public  "  Palmer  House,"  is 
fire-proof;  even  the  roof  being  composed  of  iron  set  upon 
masonry  arches. 

From  his  personal  appearance  Mr.  Palmer  would  not  be  selected 
by  the  inexperienced  as  a  millionaire.  There  is  nothing  preten- 
tious either  in  his  appearance  or  manners ;  he  is  between  fifty  and 
sixty  years  of  age,  of  medium  size,  wears  small  chin-whiskers  and 
dresses  plainer  than  many  clerks  living  on  a  small  salary ;  he  is  a 
man  of  indomitable  courage  and  enterprise,  and  is  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  the  city  of  Chicago :  whatever  is  for  the  benefit  of  the 
metropolis  of  Illinois  is  sure  of  his  support.  Mr.  Palmer  was 
brought  up  in  the  faith  of  the  followers  of  George  Fox,  his  mother 
having  been  an  honored  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends ;  this 
venerated  lady,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  retained  her  simplicity 
of  dress  and  manners  to  the  last,  being  in  no  wise  influenced  by 
the  wealth  of  her  four  sons  to  deviate  from  her  accustomed  habits, 
even  requesting,  a  short  time  before  her  death,  that  she  might  be 
buried  "after  the  fashion  of  her  people,"  in  an*  unstained  white 
pine  coffin.  Mr.  Potter  Palmer  married  a  Miss  Honore,  of 
Chicago;  Colonel  Frederick  Grant  is  his  brother-in-law,  the 
latter  having  married  a  younger  daughter  of  the  same  family. 
As  Mr.  Palmer's  estate  is  still  growing,  and  may  yet  be  en- 
larged for  many  years  to  come,  it  is  not  easy  to  even  approximate 
its  value. 

It  is  very  common  for  people  to  ask,  regarding  men  of  large 
wealth,  "What  have  they  given  to  this  or  that?"  Have  they 
founded  any  charity,  or  institution  of  learning  ?  is  the  city  or  the 
State  the  better  for  all  their  wealth  ?  In  answer  we  may  say  that 
such  men  as  Potter  Palmer,  whether  they  make  donations  outright 
or  not,  are  a  benefit  to  the  city.  They  make  the  city  a  pleasanter 
place  to  live  in  ;  they  employ  large  numbers  of  workmen ;  they 
add  a  large  share  to  the  sum  total  of  enterprise,  which  increases 
business  facilities,  and  enables  many  others  to  do  well  for  them- 
selves, and  live  better  than  they  otherwise  could.  If  all  that  Mr. 


POTTER     PALMER.  551 

Palmer  has  done  for  Chicago  in  the  way  of  developing  its  material 
interests  could  be  blotted  out,  there  would  be  a  very  large  vacuum 
in  the  progressive  history  of  northeastern  Illinois.  There  are 
other  ways,  and  we  venture  to  say,  with  Herbert  Spencer,  some- 
times better  ways,  of  helping  either  individuals  or  communities 
than  by  simply  giving  money.  The  man  who  has-  a  monthly  pay- 
roll to  meet  of  thousands  of  dollars,  and  meets  it  promptly,  is 
probably  helping  more  poor  people  to  keep  out  of  the  ranks  of 
pauperism  than  many  so-called  philanthropists,  who  dole  out  a  few 
dollars  here  and  there  to  chronic  feeders  on  the  labor  of  others. 
Nor,  when  we  consider  that  there  centres  in  Chicago  40,792  miles 
of  railroad,  and  that  the  guests  stopping  at  the  "  Palmer "  have 
averaged  535  daily  for  the  last  ten  years,  it  is  no  small  merit  to 
have  established  a  house  where  the  weary  traveller  can  find  concen- 
trated every  modern  convenience  and  luxury,  with  the  crowning 
solace  of  assured  safety. 


AMASA  STONE. 

MR.  AMASA  STONE,  late  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  said  to  be,  with 
one  exception,  the  wealthiest  individual  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  dismayed  his  friends  and  astounded  the  community  by  com- 
mitting suicide  on  the  nth  of  May,  1883.  It  is  not  often  that 
persons  blessed  with  very  large  possessions  are  anxious  to  leave 
them,  or  to  relinquish  the  power  and  influence  which  great  wealth 
can  always  secure.  In  reading  the  story  of  his  life,  we  shall  dis- 
cover that  a  very  sensitive  soul  was  lodged  in  the  body  of  this 
man,  and  that  events  which  to  others  are  a  "  mere  matter  of  busi- 
ness," was  to  him  a  reflection  upon  his  personal  honor. 

Mr.  Stone  was  born  in  Charlton,  Worcester  county,  Massachu- 
setts, on  April  27,  1818,  and  was  directly  descended  from  one  of 
those  Puritan  families  which  settled  in  the  "  Old  Bay  Colony  "  in 
1635.  "And  there  were  giants  in  those  days;"  great  strength  and 
long  life  characterized  many  of  that  brave  stock,  and  Amasa  Stone's 
earliest  American  ancestor  attained  the  age  of  nearly  100  years. 
Massachusetts  always  gave  some  amount  of  education  to  her  sons, 
and  Amasa  Stone  had  his  share.  Those  were  the  days  too,  when 
the  sons  of  respectable  families  did  not  disdain  to  learn  mechanical 
trades,  and  young  Amasa  acquired  that  of  a  carpenter  and  builder, 
as  two  of  his  elder  brothers  had  done.  He  worked  as  a  learner 
for  three  years,  but  before  he  was  twenty  had  taken  a  contract  to 
do  all  the  joiner  work  upon  a  large  house  being  erected  in  Wor- 
cester, and  the  same  year  assisted  his  brothers  in  building  a  church 
in  East  Brookfield.  The  next  year  he  superintended  the  building 
of  two  other  church  edifices,  with  other  buildings  in  different  parts 
of  his  native  State.  The  inventor  of  the  "  Howe  Truss  Bridge  " 
was  his  brother-in-law,  and  in  connection  with  this  gentleman  he 
(552) 


AMASA    STONE.  553 

built  in  1839-40  a  bridge  across  the  Connecticut  river  at  Spring- 
field, and  two  years  later,  he  and  a  friend,  Mr.  A.  Boody,  combined 
to  purchase  the  use  of  Mr.  Howe's  patent-right  to  the  whole  of 
the  New  England  States — forming  a  company  under  the  firm-name 
of  Boody,  Stone  &  Co.,  to  build  railroads  (including  bridges,  when 
these  were  necessary). 

In  1845  Mr.  Stone  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  the  New 
Haven,  Hartford  and  Springfield  Railroad,  but  resigned  shortly 
after  on  account  of  the  increasing  business  of  the  firm.  Mr.  Stone 
had  invested  $40,000  in  the  Howe  patent,  but  on  applying  it  prac- 
tically numerous  defects  were  found,  and  it  began  to  look  as  if  the 
money  invested  in  it  would  prove  to  be  a  dead  loss ;  but  posses- 
sing considerable  inventive  genius  himself,  Mr.  Stone  applied  him- 
self to  remedy  these  defects,  and  so  improved  upon  the  original 
patent,  that  "  Howe's  Truss  Bridge  "  has  remained  in  favor  ever 
since,  bringing  handsome  profits  to  Mr.  Stone  and  his  partners. 
Rapidity  of  construction  was  one  of  the  characteristics  of  this  firm 
in  whatever  they  undertook.  In  1846  the  bridge  at  Enfield  over 
the  Connecticut  was  carried  away  in  a  storm ;  the  New  Haven, 
Hartford  and  Springfield  Railroad  Company  contracted  with  Mr. 
Stone  for  its  reconstruction  ;  this  bridge  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
length,  yet  within  forty  days  Mr.  Stone  had  the  work  so  near  com- 
pletion that  trains  ran  over  it ;  and  the  railroad  company  were  so 
pleased  with  this  promptitude  that  they  presented  the  builder  with 
a  present  of  $1,000,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  great  service 
he  had  rendered  them,  together  with  a  set  of  complimentary  reso- 
lutions on  his  energy.  In  1847  Mr.  Boody  withdrew  from  the 
firm,  Mr.  Stone  making  successive  business  changes  until  1848, 
when  Messrs.  Witt  and  Harback  became  partners,  and  this  new 
firm  contracted  to  build  a  railroad  from  Cleveland  to  Columbus, 
Ohio,  agreeing  to  take  part  payment  in  stock  of  the  Cleveland, 
Columbus  and  Cincinnati  Railroad  Company,  which  proved  in  the 
end  an  excellent  investment.  In  1850  Mr.  Stone  was  elected  to 
the  Superintendency  of  this  road,  and  also  of  the  railroad  from 


554  AM  ASA     STONE. 

Cleveland  to  Erie,  resigning  four  years  later  on  account  of  his 
health.  The  next  railroad  which  he  built  was  the  Chicago  and 
Milwaukee,  and  of  this  he  was  a  director  for  many  years;  and  was 
also  President  for  several  years  of  the  Cleveland,  Painesville  and 
Ashtabula  Railroad,  and  in  1873  was  appointed  Managing  Director 
of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  Railroad.  He  resigned 
this  position  two  years  later,  not  approving  of  the  purchase  of  the 
"  Nickel-Plate."  He  was  for  some  time  a  Director  of  the  James- 
town and  Franklin  Railroad. 

One  would  think  that  all  these  railroad  interests  would  have 
sufficiently  occupied  Mr.  Stone's  mind:  they  were  in  fact  but  a 
minor  portion  of  his  business  and  financial  interests.  Indeed, 
during  the  latter  years  of  his  life  he  had  disposed  of  much  of  his 
railroad  stock,  and  had  gone  extensively  into  manufacturing.  In 
1 86 1  he  established  a  large  woollen  mill  in  Cleveland.  He  was 
at  one  time  a  large  owner  in  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  had  a 
controlling  interest  in  the  Chicago,  Kansas  City  and  Youngstown 
Iron  Works ;  also  large  investments  in  the  Forest  City  Varnish 
Company,  the  Hayden  Brass  Works  at  Elyria,  and  in  the  Union 
Iron  and  Steel  Company  of  Chicago,  of  which  his  brother,  Andrew 
B.  Stone,  was  President.  This  company  failed  in  February,  1883, 
at  which  time  Mr.  Stone  held  $220,000  of  the  bonds  and  stock, 
and  $1,000,000  of  mortgage  notes  for  money  loaned  to  the  com- 
pany, which  were  a  first  lien  on  its  assets.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  stockholders  in  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
and  always  carried  a  large  quantity  of  the  stock.  He  was  a 
Director  of  the  Merchants'  Bank  of  Cleveland,  the  Bank  of  Com- 
merce, the  Cleveland  Banking  Company,  and  for  several  years 
President  of  the  Toledo  branch  of  the  Old  State  Bank  of  Ohio. 

Mr.  Stone  had  a  good  inventive  faculty,  and  many  very  useful 
improvements,  which  he  never  took  the  trouble  to  patent,  were 
made  by  him  in  the  construction  of  cars  and  locomotives.  One  of 
the  most  difficult  features  in  building  is  that  of  constructing  roofs 
over  large  areas  without  obstructive  supports ;  in  this  Mr.  Stone 


AM  ASA     STONE.  555 

excelled,  and  a  fine  specimen  of  this  may  be  seen  in  the  Union 
Passenger  Station  at  Cleveland.  It  is  claimed  for  him  that  he  was 
the  first  person  in  this  country  to  plan  and  construct  a  pivot  draw- 
bridge of  long  span,  together  with  many  minor  novelties  in  the 
railroading  business. 

During  the  war  President  Lincoln  offered  him  a  commission  as 
brigadier-general,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  build  a  mili- 
tary railroad  through  Kentucky  to  Knoxville,  Tennessee.  This 
project  was  never  carried  out ;  but  that  did  not  prevent  Mr.  Stone 
from  giving  Mr.  Lincoln  his  warmest  support,  and  actively  engag- 
ing in  the  work  of  raising  troops  for  the  government :  he  had 
been  long  wishing  for  a  respite  from  his  numerous  business  com- 
binations, but  was  unwilling  to  leave  the  country  until  peace  was 
restored.  It  was  not  until  1868  that  he  made  the  long  considered 
trip  to  Europe  for  the  benefit  of  his  health ;  but  once  there  he  re- 
mained abroad  two  years,  travelling  extensively,  and  returning 
much  recruited,  and  ready  for  new  enterprises. 

Mr.  Stone  had  married,  at  about  the  age  of  thirty,  Miss  Julia  A. 
Gleason,  of  Warren,  Massachusetts.  Of  this  marriage  there  were 
three  children,  a  son  and  two  daughters,  and  the  great  trial  of  Mr. 
Stone's  life  was  the  loss  of  this  son  in  1865  :  he  was  a  very  prom- 
ising young  man,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  an  under-graduate 
of  Yale — being  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School ;  he  with  several 
others  was  making  a  geological  and  botanical  excursion  on  the 
Connecticut  river,  when  through  some  accident  to  the  boat  he  was 
drowned — an  irreparable  Joss,  from  the  shock  of  which  Mr.  Stone 
never  entirely  recovered.  To  commemorate  this  son,  Adelbert, 
as  well  as  to  advance  the  general  cause  of  education  in  Ohio,  Mr. 
Stone  concluded  several  years  ago  to  erect  a  memorial  building 
in  connection  with  some  already  established  university,  and  he  se- 
lected for  this  purpose  the  Western  Reserve  College,  originally 
located  at  Hudson,  Ohio.  To  this  institution  he  offered  the  sum 
of  $500,000  on  two  conditions,  namely,  that  the  faculty  would  re- 
move the  college  to  Cleveland,  and  adopt  the  name  of  Adelbert 


556  AM  AS  A    STONE. 

College.  This  proposition,  enticing  as  it  was,  required  some  con- 
sideration ;  the  Western  Reserve  College  had  already  very  ser- 
viceable buildings  and  grounds  with  a  well-invested  endowment  of 
$200,000 ;  it  might  not  be  easy  to  sell  these  buildings  to  advan- 
tage ;  the  name  was  still  more  of  a  stumbling-block ;  the  whole 
alumni  of  the  Western  Reserve  took  pride  in  their  alma  mater, 
and  could  not  bear  to  see  the  name  extinguished — this  clause  must 
evidently  be  compromised  in  some  way.  After  careful  deliberation 
the  faculty  decided  in  this  way :  to  remove  to  Cleveland,  and  to 
appropriate  part  of  Mr.  Stone's  donation  to  the  erection  of  a  col- 
lege hall  to  be  called  "Adelbert,"  but  still  retaining  as  their  own 
the  title  of  "  Western  Reserve  University,"  of  which  "Adelbert 
College "  should  form  an  integral  part.  In  fact  Mr.  Stone's 
money  was  employed  in  the  erection  of  two  buildings  for  the 
university,  the  largest  of  which  is  one  hundred  and  forty-four  by 
one  hundred  feet,  and  is  built  of  three  different  shades  of  stone, 
producing  a  very  fine  effect.  The  citizens  of  Cleveland  con- 
tributed $100,000  for  the  site,  which  is  in  a  park-like  section  of  the 
city  near  Lake  View.  Mr.  Stone  personally  watched  over  the 
erection  of  the  buildings ;  these  stand  on  the  eastern  extremity  of 
Euclid  avenue,  about  four  miles  from  the  business  portion  of  the 
city.  Mr.  Stone  made  many  other  gifts  ;  in  1877  he  built  and  en- 
dowed the  Home  for  Aged  and  Indigent  Women  in  Cleveland,  and 
gave  to  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  of  the  same  city,  property 
valued  at  $50,000.  He  was  for  many  years  a  trustee  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church,  which  he  attended. 

Mr.  Stone's  sudden  demise  by  his  own  hand  caused  a  great 
shock,  not  only  to  the  community  where  he  dwelt,  but  in  commer- 
cial and  financial  circles  from  Chicago  to  Boston.  He  was  inter- 
ested in  so  many  business  enterprises  that  his  name  was  known 
almost  as  well  in  New  York  as  in  Cleveland.  The  unthinking 
attributed  the  melancholy  event  to  the  large  losses  which  he  had 
sustained  by  several  failures,  especially  that  of  the  Chicago 
"  Union  Iron  and  Steel  Company ; "  but  it  was  no  one  event,  and 


AMASA    STONE.  557 

certainly  not  the  mere  loss  of  money,  which  produced  the  fatal 
despondency.  The  proximate  cause  was  ill-health.  He  had 
suffered  for  years  from  dyspepsia  and  other  complicated  dis- 
orders, from  which  he  had  no  rational  prospect  of  relief.  He  still 
mourned  his  lost  son,  and  the  very  fact  that  he  watched  so  closely 
day  by  day  the  erection  of  "Adelbert  College,"  shows  that  the  lad 
was  for  many  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  constantly  in  his  mind ; 
then,  Mr.  Stone  had  ever  prided  himself  on  the  thoroughness  of 
his  work,  and  the  fact  that  "  he  owed  no  man  anything."  It  will 
be  recalled  that  he  was  the  contractor  who  built  the  bridge  at 
Ashtabula,  Ohio,  which  fell  some  years  since,  from  some  unex- 
plained cause,  with  a  train  of  cars,  causing  considerable  loss  of 
life ;  the  engineer  committing  suicide  shortly  after,  in  a  very  simi- 
lar manner  to  that  adopted  by  Mr.  Stone,  although  he  was  ex- 
onerated by  the  coroner's  jury.  This  was  another  subject  that 
weighed  heavily  on  his  mind ;  and  lastly  came  the  failures  of  sev- 
eral manufacturing  companies,  in  which  he  was  not  only  largely 
interested  himself,  but  in  which  he  had  influenced  many  of  his 
friends  to  invest ;  this  touched  his  sense  of  honor  deeply,  and  was 
the  last  addition  to  the  cumulative  burdens  which  oppressed  him, 
but  which  his  naturally  sound  mind  would  undoubtedly  have 
thrown  off,  had  not  the  demon  of  dyspepsia  sat  like  an  incubus 
upon  all  hopes  of  ever  recovering  a  tolerable  state  of  physical 
comfort. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fatal  day,  as  for  several  before,  Mr. 
Stone  had  appeared  exceedingly  depressed,  and  did  not  arise 
at  the  usual  hour ;  at  1 1  A.  M.  he  got  up,  but  complained  of  not 
feeling  well,  and  in  a  couple  of  hours  again  retired  to  his  room, 
saying  he  would  endeavor  to  get  a  nap ;  as  he  had  suffered  greatly 
from  insomnia  the  family  were  careful  not  to  disturb  him,  and  it 
was  not  until  about  four  o'clock  that  his  wife,  becoming  uneasy, 
went  to  see  if  he  was  up ;  not  finding  him  in  the  chamber,  she  con- 
cluded he  was  taking  a  bath  in  the  adjoining  room,  the  door  of 
which  was  locked ;  knocking  and  calling  she  received  no  response, 


558  AM  AS  A     STONE. 

and  then  became  alarmed,  thinking  he  had  fainted.  Summoning 
the  butler  to  her  aid,  he  climbed  through  the  transom,  and  then 
Mr.  Stone  was  discovered  sitting,  half  dressed,  in  the  bath-tub, 
with  a  bullet-hole  in  his  breast,  while  close  by,  on  the  floor,  lay  a 
small  silver-plated  Smith  &  Wesson  revolver,  with  one  barrel 
empty.  Death  had  probably  been  instantaneous,  as  there  was  no 
facial  or  other  sign  of  struggle.  The  pistol-shot  had  not  been 
heard  by  any  one  in  the  house.  Mr.  Stone  left  a  widow  and  two 
daughters,  both  married :  one  to  Colonel  John  Hay,  ex- Assistant 
Secretary  of  State.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hay  were  on  their  way  home 
from  Europe  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Stone's  death.  Colonel  Hay  and 
the  other  son-in-law,  Mr.  Samuel  Mather,  were  made  executors  of 
Mr.  Stone's  will  without  bonds.  We  notice  these  executors  par- 
ticularly because  of  their  honorable  action  in  carrying  out  the 
known  wishes  of  their  father-in-law,  even  where  they  were  not 
legally  bound  to-do  so,  and  by  omitting  which,  they  might  have 
personally  profited.  According  to  a  statute  in  Ohio,  bequests  to 
public  institutions  are  void  in  law,  unless  the  will  has  been  made 
a  full  year  before  the  death  of  the  testator ;  as  Mr.  Stone's  will  had 
not  been  drawn  that  length  of  time,  all  his  bequests  to  public  in- 
stitutions were  invalidated  by  his  own  rash  act ;  these  executors, 
however,  with  the  full  consent  of  the  surviving  members  of  his 
family,  concluded  to  disregard  this  inhibitive  clause,  and  divide  the 
estate  according  to  the  known  wishes  of  the  deceased ;  and  in  a 
spirit  of  great  liberality,  instead  of  enforcing  the  lien  of  $1,000,000 
which  Mr.  Stone  held  against  the  "Union  Iron  &  Steel  Com- 
pany," the  family  concelled  the  whole  indebtedness  of  the  com- 
pany to  the  decedent,  $1,220,000,  only  stipulating  that  the 
company  should  pay  off  some  $800,000  in  notes,  of  which 
Messrs.  Amasa  Stone  and  his  brother,  Andrew  B.  Stone,  were 
joint  indorsers.  This  voluntary  relinquishment  of  nearly  half 
a  million  dollars,  to  save  the  firm  from  ruin,  shows  the  gener- 
ous and  noble  nature  of  all  the  surviving  family  concerned  in 
the  transaction. 


AM  ASA     STONE.  559 

By  the  will  the  beautiful  homestead  on  Euclid  avenue,  with 
all  its  appurtenances,  was  left  to  the  widow;  the  other  prop- 
erty, after  the  payment  of  certain  bequests,  was  divided  be- 
f  tween  her  and  his  two  daughters.  Of  these  bequests  there  was, 
to  relatives,  the  sum,  in  all,  of  $109,000.  To  Adelbert  College, 
$100,000;  to  the  Home  for  Aged  Women,  $10,000,  and  to 
the  Children's  Aid  Society,  $10,000.  His  estate  has  been 
variously  estimated  at  from  $6,000,000  to  $10,000,000,  and 
everything  was  settled  by  the  honest  and  able  executors  in 
three  weeks.  Mr.  Stone  was  very  reticent  as  to  the  amount  of 
his  property,  and  probably  no  one  knew  its  exact  amount  until 
after  his  death. 


AARON   A.   SARGENT. 

No  foreign  minister,  not  even  excepting  our  Poet-Minister  to  St. 
James,  James  Russell  Lowell,  has  attracted  more  attention  in  his 
official  position  than  Minister  Sargent,  whose  diplomatic  relations 
with  Bismarck  have  been  the  subject  of  world-wide  comment.  It 
is  needless  in  a  sketch  so  brief  as  this  to  enter  into  any  detailed 
account  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  disturbances  of  their  rela- 
tions, but  let  it  suffice  to  say  it  was  no  fault  of  the  American  Min- 
ister, and  his  conduct  throughout  was  satisfactory  to  his  govern- 
ment, which  tendered  him  the  mission  to  St.  Petersburg  made  vacant 
by  reason  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Hunt.  The  trouble  grew  out  of 
the  resolutions  adopted  in  Congress  on  the  death  of  Herr  Lasker, 
which  Mr.  Sargent  in  his  official  capacity  had  to  present  to  the 
Court  at  Berlin.  The  course  pursued  by  the  State  Department 
at  Washington,  in  publishing  Mr.  Sargent's  confidential  communi- 
cations, was  really  the  occasion  of  Prince  Bismarck's  wrath ;  and 
his  transfer  to  St.  Petersburg,  which  was  looked  upon  in  diplomatic 
circles  as  a  promotion,  was  a  tacit  apology  by  the  government 
which  was  approved  by  the  people  of  this  country. 

Mr.  Sargent  was  born  at  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  Septem- 
ber 28,  1827,  and  in  early  life  was  a  printer  and  editor.  In  1849, 
when  the  gold  fever  was  at  its  height,  he  went  to  California,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  looked  upon  as  a  Californian.  He  did 
not  become  a  miner  or  a  stock-dealer — having  a  stronger  taste  for 
the  law.  Perhaps  he  saw  a  better  opening  in  the  new  El  Dorado 
for  lawyers  than  for  miners,  since  there  were  so  many  of  the- latter, 
and  a  strong  likelihood  of  much  litigation  when  the  great  fortunes 
which  were  being  so  rapidly  acquired  should  require  to  be  divided 
among  partners  or  heirs  to  estates. 
(560) 


AARON   A.   SARGENT. 


AARON     A.    SARGENT.  561 

He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854,  and  a  year  later  was  elected 
district-attorney  of  Nevada  county.  This  was  his  stepping-stone 
to  fortune.  He  was  a  good  lawyer  but  a  better  politician,  and  his 
ambition  was  to  represent  California  in  Congress.  The  College 
of  California  bestowed  upon  the  aspiring  young  lawyer  the  degree 
of  M.  A.,  and  in  1860,  after  years  of  preparation  for  the  oppor- 
tunity that  came,  he  was  elected  Representative  from  that  State  to 
the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  as  a  Republican.  He  served  until 
March,  1863.  Returning  to  California  he  was  elected  to  the  Forty- 
first,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  Forty-second  Congress,  receiving 
18,065.  v°tes  against  15,378  for  J.  W.  Cofforth,  Democrat.  His 
long  term  of  service  as  United  States  Senator,  which  began 
shortly  after  his  retirement  from  the  House  of  Representatives, 
lasted  until  1879. 

His  course  was  not  always  satisfactory  to  his  constituents,  and 
he  was  burned  in  effigy  in  San  Francisco  on  one  occasion,  re- 
ceiving the  sobriquet  of  "  Effigy  Sargent,"  which  attached  to  his 
name  for  some  years.  Mr.  Sargent's  public  career  covers  the 
most  important  years  of  the  last  half  century,  and  his  history  as  a 
Congressman  is  allied  to  those  great  war  measures  and  subse- 
quent acts  of  reconstruction,  which  were  in  many  instances  so 
fiercely  denounced  at  the  time.  During  the  administrations  of 
President  Grant  he  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  Con- 
gress, and  was  a  man  of  extended  culture  and  fine  social  tact. 

During  his  residence  in  Berlin  he  displayed  those  qualities, 
which  entirely  satisfied  his  government,  and  his  attitude  in  the 
one  or  two  instances  where  he  had  to  cross  the  path  of  Prince  Bis- 
marck, as,  for  instances,  the  Lasker  case  and  the  prohibition  of 
American  pork  in  Germany,  he  maintained  his  position  admirably, 
and  reflected  credit  upon  the  country  he  represented.  The  New 
York  Tribune,  in  commenting  upon  the  efforts  of  the  German 
press  to  have  him  removed,  says : 

"  The  charges  of  German  government  organs,  to  the  effect  that 
he  is  not  fitted  by  education  and  social  culture  for  the  position  he 
36 


562  AARON     A.    SARGENT. 

holds,  are  manifestly  frivolous  and  baseless.  Mr.  Sargent  has 
been  a  Representative  in  Congress  and  a  United  States  Senator. 
He  has  for  many  years  occupied  an  honorable  and  even  distin- 
guished position  at  Washington.  He  was  a  man  of  mark  both  in 
the  House  and  in  the  Senate,  and  is  well  known  in  his  own  coun- 
try as  an  educated  gentleman,  and  as  an  energetic,  laborious  and 
faithful  public  officer." 

Mr.  Sargent  was  a  millionaire  who  was  a  credit  to  the  fame  of 
the  rich  men  of  California  in  maintaining  the  princely  style  of 
these  moneyed  kings  in  Washington  and  elsewhere.  His  resi- 
dence in  California  was  an  elegant  abode,  little  occupied  during  his 
later  years  by  its  distinguished  owner,  who  died  there  on  August 
14,  1887. 


DR.   HUGH   GLENN. 

DR.  HUGH  GLENN  was  at  one  time  the  largest  wheat-grower  on 
the  Pacific  side  of  the  continent,  and  consequently  the  largest  any- 
where in  the  United  States ;  he  was  born  in  Virginia,  but  early  in 
life  was  removed  to  Northern  Missouri,  living  part  of  the  time  in 
Paris,  and  part  at  Shefbina ;  he  graduated  from  a  medical  college, 
and  received  his  title  of  M.  D.,  but  never  entered  upon  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine ;  the  Mexican  war  breaking  out  its  attractions 
proved  greater  than  those  of  the  pill-box ;  he  entered  heartily  into 
that  contest,  and  it  is  said  did  the  State  some  service.  Not  long 
after  the  close  of  the  war  the  California  gold  discoveries  drew  the 
eyes  of  many  soldiers  of  fortune  in  that  direction,  Dr.  Glenn 
among  others ;  but  he  did  not  go  to  the  mines,  as  he  thought  he 
saw  quite  as  much  money  in  other  occupations.  His  first  venture 
was  the  establishment  of  freighting  teams  between  Idaho  and 
Sacramento  ;  this  was  very  toilsome  work  for  the  actual  drivers ; 
part  of  the  way  these  teams  had  to  make  their  own  roads ;  but  it 
proved  profitable,  this  being  the  only  way  in  which  goods  could  be 
conveyed  by  inland  travel.  Horses  could  not  stand  the  work  for 
any  great  length  of  time,  and  Dr.  Glenn  made  a  trip  to  the  States 
and  bought  large  numbers  of  mules ;  these  were  divided  into  droves 
of  manageable  size  and  driven  overland  to  the  Sacramento  valley. 
It  was  the  possession  of  these  animals  that  first  suggested  to  him 
the  possibility  of  employing  them  in  farming. 

Dr.  Glenn  had  a  partner  in  the  mule  business,  and  together 
they  hired  a  large  section  of  land  in  Yolo  county  to  pasture  the 
mules  .on  during  the  winter.  On  a  close  examination  of  their 
lease,  which  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  carelessly  drawn,  they 
found  there  was  no  legal  restriction  in  their  way  to  the  planting  of 

(563) 


564  DR-    HUGH     GLENN. 

grain,  and  with  the  aid  of  these  mules  they  commenced  ploughing 
up  the  pasture  and  sowing  wheat ;  the  owner  objected  to  this  use 
of  the  land,  but  he  had  no  legal  remedy ;  so  in  spite  of  his  opposi- 
tion a  fine  crop  of  wheat  was  raised,  which  proved  a  very  profitable 
operation.  The  lease  having  expired  Dr.  Glenn  removed  to  Colusa 
county  and  bought  640  acres,  which  became  eventually  a  portion 
of  the  famous  "  Glenn  farm."  This  purchase  was  made  in  1868, 
and  at  that  time  the  lands  in  that  vicinity,  though  of  the  best 
quality  for  farming  purposes,  could  be  bought  very  low,  and  he 
was  not  the  man  to  miss  his  opportunities.  About  a  year  later 
he  bought  3,000  for  $3  per  acre,  on  which  he  kept  one  thousand 
head  of  sheep  and  five  hundred  hogs.  Soon  land  began  to  rise 
in  value  all  over  the  State ;  mining  had  become  a  secondary  in- 
terest ;  the  introduction  of  costly  machinery  was  every  day  con- 
centrating the  mining  interests  more  and  more  in  the  hands  of 
capitalists,  and  general  attention  was  directed  to  the  great  facili- 
ties offered  by  the  alluvial  lands  of  the  Sacramento  valley  for  the 
raising  of  wheat. 

Dr.  Glenn's  mode  of  procedure  was  simple  but  effectual  for 
the  increase  of  his  property ;  he  would  mortgage  one  parcel  of 
land  to  get  the  means  to  buy  another,  and  so  on,  repeating  the 
process  until  he  owned  or  controlled  all  the  river  bank  from  St. 
John's  to  Princeton,  a  distance  of  twenty  miles,  and  stretching  five 
miles  back  into  the  interior.  In  1870  the  outbreak  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war  came  to  the  aid  of  his  speculations,  for  it  sent  up 
the  price  of  wheat  to  unprecedented  figures  in  that  region  ($1.28 
per  bushel).  The  next  year  he  made  an  extraordinarily  fortunate 
speculation  in  another  direction.  A  neighboring  ranchman,  a  Mr. 
Walsh,  died ;  his  cattle  were  sold  at  an  executor's  sale  at  very  low 
prices;  Dr.  Glenn  bought  some  300  of  these,  which  he  sent  under 
the  care  of  a  herder  into  the  region  where  northwest  Nevada 
touches  the  southeastern  part  of  Oregon;  this  herder  tgok  the 
cattle  on  shares,  Glenn  to  have  the  original  number  of  the  stock 
kept  good  and  half  the  increase ;  the  herder  was  to  pay  for  the 


DR.    HUGH     GLENN.  565 

pasture  and  other  expenses  for  the  other  half  of  the  increase. 
Nature  seems  to  have  modified  her  laws  to  favor  this  copartner- 
ship, for  two  or  three  years  before  Glenn  sent  these  cattle  out  of 
the  State  the  winters  in  the  region  selected  for  pasturage  had  been 
very  hard,  so  that  a  large  part  of  the  stock  had  been  lost  through 
cold  and  insufficient  nourishment ;  but  that  was  the  end  of  the 
bad  winters,  and  Glenn's  cattle  throve  and  increased  wonderfully, 
not  only  in  numbers  but  in  price :  for  an  animal  for  which  he  had 
paid  $10  or  $15  by  the  time  he  was  ready  to  sell  the  surplus 
brought  from  $30  to  $40,  and  before  his  death  rose  to  $60..  His 
original  investment  was  about  $3,000.  Since  then  he  has  several 
times  sold  in  one  year  to  the  value  of  $60,000,  without  injuriously 
reducing  his  stock.  In  California  Dr.  Glenn's  reputation  was 
founded  on  his  stock-raising  more  than' on  his  wheat-growing; 
beside  the  beef  cattle,  he  had  30,000  sheep. 

Though  not  reckoned  a  particularly  good  farmer,  like  his  near 
neighbor,  Mr.  Thomas  L.  Knock,  he  was  very  sharp  and  close, 
and  managed  to  make  the  most  of  his  wheat  by  dispensing  with 
middlemen  ;  he  chartered  ships,  and  shipped  his  grain  on  his  own 
account,  and  his  ambition  was  centred  in  his  wheat-fields :  he  liked 
to  be  called  "  the  greatest  wheat-grower  in  the  world." 

He  could  not  limit  his  activities  to  one  or  two  objects,  and  he 
managed  so  to  combine  his  several  enterprises  that  one  helped  the 
other.  He  raised  wheat,  beef-cattle,  horses,  mules,  sheep,  and 
hogs ;  he  kept  a  large  hotel,  a  store,  and  a  liquor  saloon,  and  dis- 
counted checks  at  a  good  percentage ;  though  all  these  varied  in- 
terests were  financially  profitable  to  him,  they  did  not  advance  his 
political  aspirations,  nor  were  they  beneficial  to  his  laborers  and 
other  employes,  of  which  he  had  a  large  number.  On  this  im- 
mense Glenn  farm  there  was  a  number  of  separate  ranches,  each 
having  a  head  overseer,  with  two  or  three  assistants  and  a  gang 
of  men.  When  the  wages  of  these  subordinates  were  due  the 
superintendent,  or  "  head  boss  "  as  he  was  called,  instead  of  pay- 
ing them  off  in  cash  would  give  them  an  order  on  Glenn.  Dr. 


566  DR.    HUGH     GLENN. 

Glenn,  on  receiving  such  an  order,  would  accept  it  and  draw  a 
check  payable  in  Sacramento  (over  a  hundred  miles  away),  though 
Glenn  himself  lived  in  Jacinto.  So  the  whole  process  for  a  man 
to  get  his  money  was  complicated  and  expensive,  for  it  frequently 
happened  that  Glenn  was  out  of  town  when  a  man  came  with  his 
order,  or  if  at  home  was  "  too  busy  "  to  attend  immediately  to  a 
workman's  application  ;  when  thus  detained  it  naturally  followed 
that  the  man  would  go  to  Glenn's  Hotel,  or  to  the  saloon  to  while 
away  the  time.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  system  was  ruinous  for 
the  workmen,  even  if  the  hotel  proprietor  was  willing  to  cash  the 
order,  for,  of  course,  he  demanded  "a  consideration" — perhaps 
ten  per  cent.  When  it  is  considered  that  the  pay-roll  for  his  farm 
amounted  to  $500  per  day,  we  can  see  the  profit  to  be  made  in 
shaving  notes  for  laborers.  It  was  this  system  which  caused  his 
defeat  when  nominated  for  Governor  of  California :  the  news- 
papers made  the  most  of  it,  and  all  the  "  labor  party "  went 
against  him. 

The  year  before  his  death  his  most  valuable  wheat-field,  the 
crop  of  which  was  estimated  at  $100,000,  took  fire  and  was 
utterly  destroyed  in  two  hours ;  yet  he  lost  no  sleep  over  it,  and 
no  one  meeting  him  casually  would  have  guessed  that  he  had 
just  experienced  a  serious  loss.  Though  he  had  so  large  a 
property  he  was  always  more  or  less  in  debt ;  he  never  cared 
whether  a  mortgage  was  cleared  off  or  not,  and  at  one  time  it  was 
rumored  that  he  was  insolvent;  but  this  was  not  the  case,  his 
seventy  thousand  acre  cattle  ranch  in  Oregon,  stocked  with  thirty 
thousand  head  of  cattle,  was  prolific  as  a  gold  mine,  and  that  re- 
source never  failed  him.  Take  him  all  in  all  he  was  a  remarkable 
man.  His  sudden  and  tragical  death,  nearly  two  years  ago,  by  the 
hand  of  a  murderer,  it  is  not  necessary  to  comment  upon  here. 
His  assassin  believed  himself  to  have  been  greatly  injured  by  him  ; 
but  as  the  trial  is  not  yet  completed,  nor  all  the  facts  known  (No- 
vember, 1883),  definite  conclusions  might  prove  unjust.  The  great 
wheat  farm  is  carried  on  by  Dr.  Glenn's  widow,  the  value  of  the 
crop  being  estimated  the  present  year  at  $700,000. 


MARK   HOPKINS. 

IT  is  not  infrequently  asked,  by  people  afraid  that  a  landed  aris- 
tocracy will  be  the  outcome  of  the  great  fortunes  now  being 
made  in  this  country,  "What  will  eventually  become  of  these  mil- 
lions, now  accumulated  in  a  few  hands  ?  "  Already  the  answers 
are  rolling  up  from  various  sections  of  the  country,  as  one  and 
another  pass  away  and  divide  these  great  fortunes  among  sev- 
eral heirs.  Mr.  Mark  Hopkins  is  one  of  these.  He  was  of 
the  old  Massachusetts  stock  (to  which  the  venerable  Mark  Hop- 
kins of  Williams  College  belonged),  his  father  removing  from 
Great  Barrington  in  1806  to  western  New  York,  and  again,  in  1825, 
with  a  family  of  boys,  to  St.  Clair,  in  Michigan,  where  he  died 
when  Mark  was  about  sixteen.  The  lad  had  studied  to  good  ad- 
vantage, and  before  he  was  of  age  commenced  the  practice  of  law 
in  Lockport,  New  York.  With  the  thousands  who  hurried  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1848—9  was  young  Mark  ;  leaving  his  law  books  and  clients, 
if  he  had  any,  behind,  he  took  out  an  assortment  of  goods,  and 
opened  a  store  in  the  mining  regions  in  October,  1849.  Like  nearly 
all  those  who  retained  their  health,  and  who  went  into  trade  in  the 
early  days  of  mining  in  California,  Mr.  Hopkins  made  money  rap- 
idly, and  in  1854  returned  eastward  to  obtain  a  wife,  marrying  his 
cousin,  a  Miss  Sherwood,  of  Berkshire  county,  in  Massachusetts, 
and  then  returned  to  the  Pacific  coast.  He  now  opened  a  hard- 
ware store  in  Sacramento :  in  this  store  some  other  matters  were 
talked  of  besides  hardware.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  an  intelligent  man 
and  a  politician,  and  his  store  became  a  rallying-point  for  the  men 
of  the  Free-Soil  party :  there  "  slates  were  made  "  and  "  slates 
were  broken  "  by  this  hardware  dealer  and  his  friends  ;  there  funds 
were  raised  to  start  a  Republican  paper ;  and  there  Senator  Cole's 

(567) 


568  MARK     HOPKINS. 

future  was  made ;  and  in  fact  Mark  Hopkins  was  the  nucleus 
around  which  gathered  the  leaders  of  the  Republican  party  in 
California  in  1856  and  after. 

But  Mr.  Hopkins'  politics  did  not  interfere  with  his  business  in 
any  other  way  than  to  aid  it.  He  was  one  of  those  far-seeing"  peo- 
ple who  realized  the  need  of  a  closer  and  more  rapid  communica- 
tion with  the.  East  than  the  isthmus  and  water  routes  could  afford. 
In  his  office  was  matured  the  first  practical  plan  for  the  building 
of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  and  when  the  company  was  organ- 
ized he  became  its  treasurer,  and  so  continued  until  the  time  of 
his  death.  Mrs.  Hopkins,  his  widow,  is  set  down  among  the 
wealthy  people  of  California  as  the  possessor  of  $50,000,000 ;  the 
balance  of  the  property  went  to  his  two  brothers,  Samuel  F.  and 
Moses,  the  latter  being  a  bachelor.  With  the  money  left  to  Mr. 
Samuel  F.,  he  and  his  two  sons  have  commenced  a  series  of  busi- 
ness enterprises  in  eastern  Michigan,  which  have  greatly  benefited 
that  section  of  the  State,  particularly  in  St.  Clair  where  they 
reside,  and  all  the  adjacent  country.  Two  large  brick  residences 
"on  the  hill"  at  St.  Clair  mark  the  residences  of  Mr.  Samuel  F. 
Hopkins  and  his  son,  Mark ;  the  other  son,  William  S.,  occupies 
the  Oakland  Cottage,  but  is  building  a  splendid  residence  on 
Woodward  avenue. 

The  fine  hotel,  the  "  Oakland,"  was  started  with  a  stock  com- 
pany, but  this  enterprise  would  have  come  to  grief  had  not  the 
Hopkins  put  in  their  money,  and  made  the  hotel  and  sanitarium 
first-class,  and  thus  made  it  a  source  of  benefit  to  the  city  by 
attracting  strangers  to  the  locality,  who  often  eventually  became 
permanent  residents.  Young  Mr.  Mark  H.  owns  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  Riverside  driving  park,  a  half-mile  track,  with  suitable 
stables ;  his  own  horses  are  among  the  finest  in  Michigan  ;  he  also 
owns  a  steam-yacht  which  cost  $40,000,  claimed  to  be  the  fastest 
on  American  waters.  Both  the  brothers  are  largely  interested  in 
woollen  mills,  which  employ  a  large  number  of  hands.  One  of  the 
handsomest  churches  in  the  State,  the  "New  Congregational 


MARK     HOPKINS.  569 

Church  "  at  St.  Clair,  is  more  largely  indebted,  financially,  to  the 
Hopkins  family  than  to  any  others,  for  its  elegant  finish  and  beau- 
tiful decorations ;  they  also  gave  their  money  freely  for  a  splendid 
pavement  which  is  laid  the  whole  distance  from  Somerville  to 
"  the  Oakland." 

While  part  of  this  great  fortune  is  building  up  eastern  Michigan, 
Mrs.  Hopkins  has  been  generously  scattering  a  portion  of  her 
share  in  her  native  town  of  Great  Barrington,  Massachusetts. 
Having  bought  up  the  old  homestead,  and  renovated  everything 
about  the  place,  spending  about  $100,000  upon  it,  and  another 
$10,000  on  the  cemetery  lot,  she  gave  $10,000  towards  rebuilding 
the  old  Congregational  Church,  and  $90,000  to  build  a  parsonage, 
while  her  adopted  son,  Mr.  Timothy  Hopkins,  now  Treasurer  of 
the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  gave  $35,000  for  an  organ  for  this 
same  church.  Thus  we  see  in  this  case  the  beginning  of  that  dis- 
integration of  a  large  fortune  which  may-  be  expected  in  many 
others ;  the  exceptions  being  where  the  bulk  of  the  property  is 
confided  to  one  person,  as  in  the  great  Vanderbilt  and  Astor 
estates. 


JAMES   GORDON    BENNETT,  SR. 

No  one  who  has  lived  in  New  York  city  during  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century  or  longer,  would  scarcely  be  able  to  conceive  of  the 
metropolis  without  a  James  Gordon  Bennett — and  the  Herald, 
which  he  established ;  one  might  as  well  attempt  to  think  of  Eng- 
lish literature  without  Dickens,  or  of  French  dramatists  without 
Moliere.  This  feeling,  that  the  Herald,  which  was  practically  Ben- 
nett, was  an  essential  part  of  the  common  life  of  the  great  city,  did 
not  arise  from  any  overwhelming  sense  of  its  value  as  a  leader  of 
thought,  but  from  various  other  circumstances.  But  there  was 
one  characteristic  which  always  made  the  mouth-piece  of  the  elder 
Bennett  sought  for  by  many  classes  of  persons,  and  that  was  its 
value  as  an  indicator  of  public  opinion:  it  always  reflected  like  a 
mirror  either  what  the  majority  thought  to-day,  or  what  they  were 
likely  to  think  to-morrow — not  necessarily  what  they  ought  to 
think  either  to-day  or  to-morrow. 

James  Gordon  Bennett  was  born  at  a  small  place  called  New 
Mill,  near  the  township  of  Keith,  in  Banffshire,  Scotland  ;  his  family 
belonged  to  the  old  loyal  Catholic  race  which  fought  for  the 
Stuarts,  some  of  them  losing  life  and  estate  in  the  long  struggle 
for  their  native  kings ;  the  clan  Gordon,  to  which  a  maternal 
ancestor  belonged,  furnishing  the  middle  name  of  the  present  and 
late  editor  of  the  Herald.  Young  James  was  born  at  just  about 
the  same  time  as  the  nineteenth  century,  on  which  he  left  such 
graphic  marks  in  the  field  of  journalism  ;  part  of  his  family  were, 
by  intermarriage,  of  French  blood,  and  by  a  relative  of  this 
nationality  he  was  brought  up. 

Just  about  the  time  when  it  became  necessary  for  young  Ben- 
nett to  select  a  vocation  an  edition  of  "Benjamin  Franklin's  Auto- 
(57o) 


JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  SR.  571 

biography"  was  published  in  Edinburgh,  and  to  this  fact  New  York 
is  probably  indebted  for  the  arrival  there  of  James  G.  Bennett  a 
few  years  later.  He  was  much  taken  with  this  volume,  the  spirit 
of  which  accorded  so  well  with  the  thrifty  Scotch  side  of  his  nature. 
At  this  time  he  was  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  healthy,  hopeful 
and  industrious.  Since  reading  Franklin  his  thoughts  had  been 
irresistibly  drawn  towards  America,  but  it  was  not  until  he  was 
nearing  his  twentieth  year  that  he  was  enabled  to  carry  out  his 
project.  He  then  took  passage  for  Halifax ;  he  had  no  friends 
there,  nor  elsewhere  on  this  continent,  and  but  little  money — some 
twenty-five  dollars  left  after  his  passage  was  paid.  Travelling 
down  the  coast  to  Portland,  he  there  took  passage  on  a  coaster  for 
Boston,  which  was  impressed  upon  his  imagination  as  the  birth- 
place of  his  new  ideal — Franklin.  But  Boston,  all  unconscious  of 
the  man  it  was  repelling,  had  no  work  to  give  him.  Day  after  day 
he  wandered,  making  application  for  various  sorts  of  employment, 
and  at  last,  having  spent  his  last  penny,  he  was  reduced  to  abso- 
lute want ;  for  two  days  he  was  unable  to  buy  food,  and  then,  for- 
tunately, on  the  third  morning,  while  walking  early  through  the 
Common,  he  found  a  shilling  (a  Massachusetts  shilling  was  then 
16^3  cents);  with  this  he  was  able  to  buy  a  meal,  and  shortly  after 
this  adventure  he  obtained  employment  in  Wells  &  Lilly's  book- 
store. 

In  1822  he  went  to  New  York  and  obtained  some  temporary 
employment  in  a  newspaper  office,  but,  being  invited  by  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Charleston  Courier  to  take  the  position  of  assistant- 
manager,  he  accepted  and  went  to  South  Carolina.  In  this  office 
he  found  use  for  his  knowledge  of  Spanish,  the  Courier  having 
some  correspondents  in  Cuba  and  elsewhere  who  sent  their  letters, 
and  sometimes  advertisements,  in  that  language  ;  however,  he  did 
not  remain  long  in  Charleston,  returning  to  New  York  after  a  few 
months'  experience  in  the  sunny  South.  Once  more  in  the  me- 
tropolis, he  returned  to  his  original  idea  of  teaching,  and  issued 
circulars,  in  a  somewhat  grandiloquent  style,  proposing  to  estab- 


57  2  JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  SR. 

lish  a  "permanent  commercial  school,"  to  be  located  in  Fulton 
street,  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway.  He  obtained  a  few  scholars, 
but  scarcely  enough  to  pay  the  rent;  the  school  scheme  was  given 
up.  His  next  move  was  to  give  a  course  of  lectures  on  political 
economy ;  but  few  people  care  to  listen  to  such  subjects  except 
when  given  by  experienced  men  of  popular  reputation,  and  the 
young,  unknown  Scotchman  scarcely  drew  a  corporal's  guard  to 
listen  to  his  very  useful  but  exceedingly  dry  subject.  These  lec- 
tures were  given  in  the  old  Dutch  church  which  once  stood  on  Ann 
street,  not  far  removed  from  the  present  site  of  the  Herald  build- 
ing. Looking  at  his  empty  exchequer,  at  the  close  of  these  lec- 
tures, the  James  Gordon  Bennett  of  twenty-five  could  scarcely 
have  seen  then,  even  in  his  mind's  eye,  the  massive  pile  of  marble 
which  he  would  one  day  call  his  own,  almost  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  empty  benches  before  him.  But  it  is  not  the  easily 
discouraged  who  build  marble  palaces. 

Once  again  he  is  forced  to  turn  general  utility  man  in  a  news- 
paper office  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  he  must  have  had  miserable 
pay,  for,  though  he  was  economical,  saving,  and  had  none  of  those 
habits  called  little  vices — smoking,  drinking,  chewing — which  un- 
awares run  away  with  so  much  money,  though  he  was  abstemious 
in  eating  and  dressed  plainly,  he  could  save  but  little. 

In  1828,  during  the  first  Jackson  campaign,  Mr.  Bennett  espoused 
that  side  of  politics,  and  was  employed  in  the  office  of  the  Courier 
and  Enquirer,  then  a  leading  commercial  and  Democratic  paper — 
a  morning  daily — to  which  was  first  applied  the  term  of  "  blanket 
sheet,"  on  account  of  its  size.  It  is  claimed  by  some  of  Mr.  Ben- 
nett's biographers  that  "  he  never  had  any  principles,"  yet  it  hap- 
pened that  when  the  proprietor  of  this  paper  abandoned  his  life- 
long principles  and  sold  his  influence  out  to  Nicholas  Biddle, 
swinging  clean  round  from  Jacksonism  to  the  support  of  the  Na- 
tional Bank,  that  Mr.  Bennett,  unable  to  tolerate  such  treachery, 
gave  up  his  position  on  the  Courier,  and,  stung  to  anger  at  the 
course  of  his  late  chief,  started  a  small  paper  in  support  of  his 


JAMES     GORDON     BENNETT,    SR.  573 

principles,  devoted  to  Jackson  and  his  successor,  Van  Buren.  This 
paper  was  called  the  Globe,  and  was,  very  naturally,  short-lived, 
because  its  editor  and  proprietor  had  too  little  capital  to  run  a 
party  organ  without  the  support  of  the  party  it  sustained,  the 
leaders  naturally  preferring  to  bestow  their  favors  on  old-estab- 
lished papers. 

Fancying  that  Pennsylvania  politicians  might  prove  more  grate- 
ful, Mr.  Bennett  transferred  himself  and  his  hopes  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  started  another  Democratic  paper  called  the  Pennsyl- 
vania. Martin  Van  Buren  was  now  looming  up  as  the  candidate 
who  was  to  follow  his  predecessor,  and  it  is  believed  that  Mr. 
Bennett  applied  to  him  for  a  temporary  loan  to  establish  his  paper, 
but  this  proposition  was  declined,  and  the  project  abandoned.  At 
that  period  all  papers  were  allied  to  one  party  or  the  other ;  inde- 
pendent journalism  was  unknown ;  the  trammels  of  party  lines 
were  equally  thrown  over  the  little  insignificant  country  weekly  as 
over  the  wealthiest  daily  of  the  metropolis.  James  Gordon  Ben- 
nett decided  to  take  a  new  departure.  Abandoning  all  the  old 
conventionalities  which  sat  like  iron-bound  customs  upon  the 
daily  press,  freeing  himself  at  one  bound  from  all  party  trammels 
and  limitations,  he  decided  to  inaugurate  a  free  newspaper — this, 
of  course,  if  it  could  succeed  anywhere,  must  succeed  in  New  York. 
Leaving  Philadelphia  he  returned  to  the  metropolis,  and  being 
very  short  of  funds,  hired  a  cellar  in  Wall  street,  which  was  to 
serve  as  his  office  of  publication.  This  was  not  fitted  up  very 
luxuriously.  A  desk  was  improvised  with  the  aid  of  two  barrels 
and  a  plank,  one  end  of  which  also  served  for  a  counter;  one  chair 
and  an  inkstand,  in  which  was  a  good  goose  quill,  completed  the 
furniture ;  the  lord  of  this  luxurious  establishment  had  persuaded 
a  young  firm  of  printers  to  set  up  the  matter  and  do  the  press- 
work.  Mr.  Bennett  was  not  only  editor  and  proprietor  of  this 
promising  outlay,  but  also  reporter,  messenger,  cashier  and  sales- 
man, bookkeeper  and  office-boy  for  the  concern  ;  one  hour  writing 
short,  snapping  editorials,  then  a  spicy  paragraph  or  joke,  then 


574  JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  SR. 

rushing  out  to  get  accounts  of  foreign  arrivals,  or  to  learn  the  state 
of  affairs  in  Wall  street,  hurrying  back  to  make  up  copy  for  the 
compositors,  working  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  hours  a  day — his 
fine  constitution  and  temperate  habits  enabling  him  to  bear  this 
toil  without  apparent  injury.  And  thus  the  Morning  Herald  was 
born.  The  first  number  appeared  on  the  6th  of  May,  1835,  "price 
one  cent."  This  low  price,  however,  was  not  the  first  innovation 
on  the  "respectable  dailies"  (price  sixpence),  for  the  Sun  had 
already  been  established  two  years. 

Until  the  penny  papers  started,  there  were  none  sold  on  the 
streets,  and  very  few  printed  above  the  number  necessary  to  sup- 
ply subscribers  and  exchanges.  If  one  wished  to  obtain  a  single 
copy,  it  was  necessary  to  go  to  the  office  of  publication  to  buy. 
There  was  no  such  thing  as  a  news-stand  in  the  city.  Like  many 
of  our  successful  men,  Mr.  Bennett  had  made  several  failures 
before  he  struck  upon  the  particular  line  in  which  he  was  to  make 
his  grand  success. 

The  first  issues  of  the  Herald  were  necessarily  somewhat  defi- 
cient in  matter  of  the  stately  sort,  as  one  head  and  one  pair  of 
hands  had  to  do  everything,  and  no  person,  however  active,  can 
be  ubiquitous ;  but  it  is  astonishing  what  a  variety  appeared  in 
those  little  sheets,  and  at  least  there  was  nothing  stale,  verbose  or 
dull ;  everything  was  fresh,  piquant,  and  a  perfect  contrast  to  the 
old  party  papers.  In  the  matter  of  advertisements  even,  there 
was  a  brisk,  metallic  ring,  unknown  to  such  edifying  papers  as  the 
Post  and  the  Commercial,  for  Mr.  Bennett  often  wrote  these  himself 
for  the  advertiser ;  and  if  the  tone  of  the  Herald  was  not  always 
adjusted  to  the  cultured  taste,  it  was  always  crisp  and  pungent, 
and  having  bought  one  paper,  people  usually  came  back  asking 
for  more.  Having  no  "time-honored  consistency"  to  hamper 
him,  he  was  free  to  seize  upon  every  topic  of  interest,  and  handle 
it  in  a  fresh,  unconventional  style,  which  was  a  certain  relief  from 
the  elaborate  editorial  of  the  "  six-pennies,"  of  which  subscribers 
knew  the  purport  without  reading,  because  of  this  very  same  con- 


JAMES     GORDON     BENNETT,    SR.  575 

sistency  which  they  were  bound  to  maintain.  People  found  fault 
very  freely  with  the  new  paper  sometimes,  for  what  they  called  its 
coarseness  or  lack  of  decorum,  but  they  kept  on  buying  the  paper 
all  the  same,  and  as  long  as  they  did  that,  it  mattered  little  to 
James  Gordon  Bennett  how  much  they  abused  him.  More  than 
any  other  editor  extant  he  had  the  tact  of  picking  up  and  briefly 
commenting  upon  those  very  topics  which  most  interested  the  ma- 
jority of  the  people. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  revenues  of  the  office  permitted,  Mr.  Bennett 
hired  an  assistant  in  the  shape  of  a  police  reporter,  who  henceforth 
relieved  him  of  the  unpleasant  duty  of  hovering  about  the  police 
courts  to  pick  up  items.  But  now  occurred  the  usual  fate  of 
nearly  all  New  York  enterprises  before  the  introduction  of  Croton 
water:  a  fire  broke  out  which  consumed  the  Herald  office,  and 
though  by  almost  superhuman  efforts  he  "  raked,"  as  he  used  to 
say,  "  the  Herald  out  of  the  fire,"  it  was  a  serious  drawback  for 
him,  but  rallying  from  this  he  soon  re-established  himself,  the 
Herald  all  the  time  increasing  in  circulation,  when  a  few  months 
later  occurred  the  "  great  fire  "  of  New  York,  which  swept  away  a 
large  portion  of  the  business  section  of  the  city.  This,  which  was 
a  great  calamity  to  so  many,  was  really  a  benefit  to  Mr.  Bennett. 
It  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  show  his  superior  enterprise  over 
all  contemporaries.  He  did  not  intrust  this  affair  to  any  reporter, 
but  went  himself  to  the  fire ;  observed,  made  his  notes,  picked  up 
all  sorts  of  facts  about  the  firms  destroyed,  the  gallantry  of  the 
firemen,  and  whatever  of  terror  and  of  interest  a  great  conflagra- 
tion can  present.  This  he  wrote  up  for  his  paper  in  such  graphic 
style,  so  vividly  picturing  the  whole  scene,  that  copies  of  the 
"Herald account  of  the  fire"  was  in  every  hand  before  the  paper 
on  which  it  was  printed  had  time  to  dry.  Then,  in  addition,  he 
went  to  the  extraordinary  expense,  such  as  was  not  dreamed  of 
then  by  the  daily  papers,  of  producing  a  map  of  the  burnt  district, 
and  a  picture  of  the  burning  Exchange:  this  gave  a  stimulus  to 
the  paper  which  never  from  that  time  has  encountered  a  receding 
wave. 


^^g  JAMES     GORDON     BENNETT,    SR. 

The  Herald  is  now,  and  has  been  for  years,  the  great  advertising- 
medium  of  the  general  public.  Specialists  may  seek  other  vehi- 
cles for  reaching  particular  classes  of  persons,  but  no  paper  pub- 
lishes as  many  advertisements  in  any  given  period  as  does  the 
Herald. 

At  the  end  of  fifteen  months  from  the  date  of  its  first  issue  the 
Herald  vtzs  so  well  established  that  Mr.  Bennett  ventured  to  raise 
the  price  to  two  cents — somewhat  improving  its  size  and  general 
appearance.  This  change  was  approved  by  the  public  ;  subscribers 
increased  ;  new  enterprises  were  undertaken  by  the  management, 
and  though  the  Herald  has  never  been  without  bitter  enemies,  the 
time  had  past  for  any  of  them  to  hope  that  it  could  be  driven  from 
its  intrenchments.  Other  papers  which  had  sprung  up  in  time 
made  special  points  of  rivalry  with  the  Herald,  and  had  their  fol- 
lowers, friends,  and  constituencies,  but  none  of  them  succeeded  in 
producing  such  a  variety  of  news,  with  the  same  degree  of  prompt- 
ness, as  the  Herald.  Soon  its  correspondents  appeared  in  every 
place  and  at  every  time,  when  anything  of  interest  was  to  be  seen 
or  heard.  In  fact  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell  in  what  it  did  not  lead 
the  way  as  a  collector  and  disseminator  of  news.  The  Herald  is 
the  only  paper  which  has  ever  established  a  sea-going  yachting 
system  for  the  early  reception  of  foreign  mails. 

During  the  war  the  "Herald  correspondent "  seemed  ubiquitous 
— no  skirmish  could  take  place  anywhere  but  all  the  details  were 
directly  forwarded  by  some  writer  in  the  pay  of  the  Herald. 
Herald  correspondents  accompanied  every  general  on  the  land, 
and  every  admiral  and  commander  on  the  water ;  prison  life,  camp 
life,  the  garrison,  and  the  bowels  of  the  Monitor,  ^seemed  equally 
to  be  the  abiding-place  of  a  Herald  correspondent :  other  papers 
often  gave  graphic  reports,  but  they  were  few  indeed  in  which  the 
writer  did  not  betray  some  political  bias.  Those  who  wished  to 
know  the  simple  facts  lucidly  set  forth  by  able  pens,  without  spe- 
cial theories  about  slavery  or  anti-slavery,  "had  to  buy  a  Herald" 
Herald  extras  were  issued  without  stint,  and  the  "interviewer" 
was  abroad  in  the  land. 


JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  SR.  577 

No  paper  in  the  United  States  approximates  the  Herald  in  the 
expense  it  incurs  for  procuring  news  from  foreign  parts.  The 
London  Times  spends  a  great  deal  in  this  way ;  yet  during  the 
war  in  Abyssinia  the  Herald  correspondent  with  the  English  army- 
sent  the  first  news  of  the  campaign  to  England,  and,  of  course, 
the  earliest  received  in  the  United  States. 

On  one  occasion,  when  the  Herald  wished  to  obtain  an  impor- 
tant speech  from  Washington  in  advance  of  its  rivals,  and  for  the 
sake  of  getting  possession  of  the  wires,  and  holding  them  till  its 
correspondent  was  ready  to  transmit  the  speech,  Mr.  Bennett 
ordered  the  operator  in  Washington  to  telegraph  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis,  and  after  that  to  keep  on  through  the  whole  Bible  if 
it  was  necessary  to  fill  up  time,  but  not  to  take  any  other  message 
till  the  speech  came.  These  coups  deforce  might  look  like  reckless 
extravagance,  but  they  paid  in  the  end. 

After  the  Herald  became  well  established — yielding  a  business 
of  $25,000  per  annum — Mr.  Bennett  married  a  lady  named  Hen- 
rietta Agnes  Crean,  on  which  occasion,  he  published  an  editorial 
announcement  of  the  fact  in  a  card  addressed  to  the  public  of  a 
most  grotesque  nature,  and  highly  eulogistic  of  the  lady,  but  which 
was  certainly  not  calculated  to  gratify  any  woman  of  refined  taste. 
However,  everything  of  this  kind  made  the  Herald  more  talked 
of,  and  added  to  the  receipts  at  the  desk.  Of  this  marriage  there 
were  two  children,  the  present  James  Gordon  Bennett,  and  a 
daughter,  now  Mrs.  Jeanette  Bell. 

For  a  long  series  of  years  the  Herald  office  was  on  the  corner 
of  Nassau  and  Fulton  streets;  but  in  1856-7  the  present  impos- 
ing structure  of  marble  and  iron  was  erected  on  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Ann  street,  which  has  been  graphically  designated 
as  the  very  "  eye  of  New  York,"  and  here  the  successor  of  the 
little  penny  Herald  of  1835,  of  four  pages,  a  few  inches  wide,  is 
issued — a  splendid  sheet  of  from  twelve  to  sixteen  pages,  frequently- 
containing  ninety-six  and  occasionally  more  columns  of  reading 
matter  and  carefully  classified  advertisements. 
37 


578  JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  SR. 

It  is  quite  a  mistake,  as  some  paragraphists  have  asserted,  that 
Mr.  Bennett  was  harsh  or  disagreeable  in  his  manners ;  that  he 
could  be,  if  occasion  called  for  it,  there  is  no  doubt,  but  there  are 
still  living  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  old  reporters,  sub-editors,  and  all 
classes  of  people,  who  say  "  the  old  man  always  treated  them  well ; " 
indeed,  his  habit  was  to  be  courteous,  unless  there  was  reason  for 
being  otherwise,  though  naturally  a  little  guarded  in  manner 
towards  strangers.  The  large  number  of  employes  who  grew  old 
in  his  service  is  sufficient  proof  that  he  was  a  just  and  oftentimes 
a  generous  man.  Mr.  Bennett  died  in  1872,  but,  so  far  as  the 
public  were  concerned,  or  the  interests  of  the  Herald  affected,  un- 
less the  announcement  were  made,  there  were  few  outside  the  cir- 
cle of  his  personal  friends  who  would  have  been  aware  of  the  fact ; 
so  perfectly  was  the  daily  routine  of  the  management  of  the  paper 
understood  by  all  concerned,  and  so  able  a  body  of  sub-editors 
and  reporters  always  on  hand,  with  a  superintending  chief  to  direct 
the  movements  of  the  whole  corps  of  employes,  that  not  the  slight- 
est hitch  occurred ;  the  Herald  went  on  its  way,  under  the  new 
regime,  without  shortening  sail  or  perceptibly  tacking  on  its  course. 
"The  king  is  dead,  long  live  the  king,"  is  all  that  the  people,  or 
most  of  them,  cared  to  know.  Mr.  Bennett  had  very  strong  per- 
sonal friends,  whom  he  buckled  to  his  heart  "  with  hooks  of  steel," 
but  he  had  no  large  personal  following  like  Horace  Greeley,  and 
even  among  the  subscribers,  who  had  taken  the  Herald  ever  since 
its  first  publication,  there  was  none  of  that  personal  enthusiasm 
for  the  editor  which  was  a  marked  feature  of  the  readers  of  the 
Tribune ;  they  could  not  do  without  the  Herald,  but  they  could  do 
without  any  one  person  connected  with  it;  hence  there  was  none 
of  that  public  demonstration  of  sorrow  over  Mr.  Bennett's  death 
which  followed  Horace  Greeley  to  his  last  resting-place ;  neither 
was  there  any  remarkable  enthusiasm  manifested  when  it  was 
known  that  the  "heir  apparent"  would  succeed  to  the  vacant 
throne.  The  general  feeling  was,  that  "  the  Herald  would  go  on," 
and  that  was  all,  but  this  feeling  changed  after  a  time. 


JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT.  JR. 


JAMES   GORDON   BENNETT,  JR. 

IN  the  old  historic  Herald  building,  in  Nassau  street,  the  elder 
Bennett  laid  the  foundation  for  his  great  fortune,  and  brought 
through  childhood  and  adolescence  to  virile  strength  and  majesty 
a  journal  which,  as  a  property,  is  unequalled  ;  and  in  the  new  build- 
ing the  son  continues  the  effort,  and  formulates  in  spirit,  if  not  in 
bodily  presence,  plans  for  newspaper  work  and  warfare,  which  for 
boldness  and  breadth  of  view  as  well  as  actual  scientific,  historical, 
ethnological  value,  have  seldom  been  equalled. 

Mr.  Bennett's  largest  work  has  been  outside  of  his  newspaper, 
but  he  has  used  that  as  a  vehicle  through  which  to  inform  the  pub- 
lic of  his  enterprises.  With  well-considered  temerity  he  sent 
Henry  M.  Stanley  into  the  unexplored  wilds  of  Africa  to  find 
Livingstone,  simply  telegraphing  him  :  "  Find  Livingstone.  Yours, 
Bennett."  Conceiving  the  idea,  he  ordered  its  execution  with  no 
hesitation  regarding  consequences  or  expense.  This  boldness  of 
execution,  waiting  upon  thought,  is  Mr.  Bennett's  chief  character- 
istic, and  it  is  such  a  spirit  which  leads  men  in  other  spheres  to 
conquer  empires  and  dethrone  great  kings.  In  finding  Living- 
stone, Bennett  has  perhaps  found  and  founded  empires — for 
others — and  opened  up  floods  of  fortune  in  the  wilderness  of  the 
dark  continent.  The  world  was  talking  about  Livingstone,  specu- 
lating on  his  fate,  placing  him  hopelessly  in  the  long  list  of  mys- 
terious disappearances  and  martyrs  to  missionary  zeal.  Bennett 
heard  the  talk,  and  deeming  that  the  function  of  a  newspaper  was 
to  provide  news  and  for  the  solving  of  the  people's  doubts  re- 
garding any  solvable  problem,  he  penned  his  telegram  of  "  Find 
Livingstone." 

That  Mr.  Bennett  is  not  merely  moved  by  the  unbridled  desire 

(579) 


580  JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  JR. 

for  notoriety,  which  is  the  failing  of  so  many  men,  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  all  of  his  projects,  however  wild  and  unheard  of  they  at 
first  appear,  always  redound  to  the  greater  honor,  glory  and  pecu- 
niary advantage  of  the  New  York  Herald.  This  wise  policy  in- 
duces him  to  establish  bureaus  of  information,  not  only  at  home 
but  also  abroad,  that  furnish  news  to  his  paper,  it  is  true,  but  also 
incalculably  benefit  and  aid  the  masters  of  our  merchant  marine. 
The  Herald  meteorological  service  is  to-day  as  much  appreciated 
in  London  or  Norway  as  it  is  here.  This  is  not  the  doing  of  a 
mere  selfish  notoriety-seeker.  But  one  result  of  this  policy  is  that 
the  paper  is  found  everywhere. 

Napoleonic  in  decision  of  character  and  magnitude  of  operations, 
the  editor  of  the  Herald  is  very  unlike  the  French  conqueror  in 
his  contempt  -for  personal  meddling  with  detail ;  he  is  of  the  type 
of  the  fabled  Aladdin.  He  wills,  he  orders,  and  further  disquiets 
himself  not  a  whit,  for  he  knows  his  orders  will  be  obeyed.  He 
need  never  fret  for  the  possible  errors  of  a  Grouchy.  And  yet,  as 
to  his  paper,  or  papers,  for  we  must  not  forget  the  roseate  Tele- 
gram, which  he  established  to  try  his  youthful  pinions  withal, 
while  his  father  was  yet  alive,  he  is  practically  omniscient. 

The  unknown  pole,  pointing  its  icy  finger  to  the  sky  in  the  des- 
olate Northland,  or  perchance  lapped  with  summer  flowers  in  the 
midst  of  a  beautiful  undiscovered  sea,  does  not  deter  him.  Its 
inaccessible  reserve,  guarded  by  huge  barriers  of  ice,  is  not  distant 
or  formidable  enough  to  pale  the  fierceness  of  his  intention  to  seize 
the  knowledge  of  the  unknown,  that  he  may  repeat  it  in  the  ears 
of  a  wondering  world.  The  story  of  the  "Jeannette"  expedition 
is  one  of  the  most  thrilling  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  Herald, 
and  of  itself  alone  would  have  made  its  fame. 

A  slight  quarrel  with  the  telegraph  company,  who  either  do  not 
send  his  messages  quickly  enough  or  improperly  supervise  them, 
is  sufficient  to  induce  him  to  entertain  the  project  of  laying  a  cable 
for  himself,  a  private  wire  along  the  silent  deeps  of  the  vast  throb- 
bing ocean  that  covers  lost  Atlantis.  A  few  months  more  will  see 


JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  JR.  581 

the  completion  of  this  last  vast  undertaking,  engaged  in  with  prosaic 
calm,  and  yet;  when  the  first  attempt  to  lay  a  cable,  in  1850,  was 
made,  the  pity  and  ridicule  of  the  world  were  excited  at  the  vision- 
ary scheme.  Bennett  is  a  visionary  of  the  practical  order.  He 
sees  what  will  do  good  to  the  Herald  and  secures  it. 

When  the  panic  struck  New  York  in  1873,  Bennett  gave 
$30,000  for  soup-kitchens,  which  were  organized  by  Delmonico, 
and  fed  thousands.  Large  sums  were  also  expended  in  the  collec- 
tion of  facts  by  a  staff  of  special  reporters  who,  night  and  day,  ex- 
plored every  hole  and  corner  of  the  great  city,  and  spread  the 
result?  of  their  labors  in  the  columns  of  the  Herald. 

During  the  last  famine  in  Ireland,  the  Herald  subscribed  $100,- 
ooo,  and  raised  as  much  more,  which  was  then  distributed  by  a 
special  commission  of  experienced  staff  writers,  who,  day  by  day, 
cabled  graphic  stories  of  the  destitution  they  relieved.  And  in 
the  same  way,  when  floods,  famine,  and  disease  have  shaken  sec- 
tions of  this  country  to  their  centres,  the  example  of  prompt 
succor  and  stimulus  to  exertion  was  supplied  by  the  unfailing  re- 
sources and  inexhaustible  initiative  of  the  Herald,  which  diligently 
and  daily  applied  the  spur  to  benevolence. 

The  firemen  adore  the  name  of  James  Gordon  Bennett,  Jr.,  for 
to  him  they  owe  their  proudest  distinction,  an  annual  gold  medal 
to  the  bravest,  elected  by  their  own  suffrages.  The  distribution 
of  these  medals  is  made  a  great  occasion,  and  is  attended  by  the 
most  prominent  of  our  citizens. 

When  Cuba  was  in  the  throes  of  rebellion,  a  Herald  reporter 
penetrated  "  Mambi-Land,"  and  was  locked  up  for  months  by  the 
jealous  rulers  of  the  "  Ever-faithful  Isle."  When  the  "  Virginius  " 
was  captured,  and  American  ships  of  war  were  sent  to  demand 
redress  for  the  murder  of  American  citizens,  a  Herald  reporter,  in 
spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  administration  to  keep  all  correspondents 
away  from  the  scene  but  one  favored  scribe  from  a  paper  in  close 
accord  with  it,  signed  articles  on  board  the  commodore's  ship  as 
ship's  clerk,  and  sent  home  most  stirring  accounts  of  the  proceed- 


582  JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  JR. 

ings,  which  resulted  in  the  release  of  a  large  remnant  of  the  cap- 
tives. The  same  man  h'ad  returned,  within  a  week  of  starting  for 
Cuba,  from  very  near  the  Pole,  and  soon  after  was  off  to  Central 
America  with  surveying  parties,  looking  for  the  best  routes  to 
penetrate  the  link  between  North  and  South  America.  The  inde- 
fatigable labors  of  such  men  are  devoted  to  the  furnishing  forth 
the  daily  diet  provided  in  the  columns  of  the  New  York  Herald. 

When  Rochefort,  the  veneered  Diogenes  of  Paris,  passed  through 
New  York,  after  his  escape  from  New  Caledonia,  the  Herald  sent 
a  force  of  stenographers  to  take  down  an  English  translation  of 
his  fluent  speech.  It  proved  an  impracticable  task,  and  a  long- 
hand synopsis  was  being  handed  in  after  the  lecture  by  the  inter- 
preter, when,  by  a  diplomatic  triumph,  and  at  a  cost  of  $5,000,  the 
manuscript  was  brought  in  at  midnight.  Within  half  an  hour, 
translators  having  been  gathered  in  from  highway  and  byway,  the 
author  of  "  Mambi-Land  "  presided  at  a  meeting  where  pencils 
silently  slashed  away  at  lightning  speed,  translating  the  pages  of 
the  formidable  document,  rapidly  editing  them,  and  connecting  the 
sentences  of  the  severed  sheets.  The  next  morning  the  New 
York  Herald  had  the  exclusive  report — in  French  and  English — 
of  Rochefort's  speech. 

Whenever  some  event  of  absorbing  interest  takes  place  in  Ger- 
many, or  Spain,  or  China,  the  Herald  invariably  has  its  report 
printed  not  only  in  English,  but  in  German,  Spanish  or  Chinese, 
as  the  case  may  be.  Its  constituency  is  greatly  widened  by  this, 
as  in  such  special  cases  its  news,  collected  and  transmitted  with 
absolute  indifference  to  expense,  is  always  full  and  accurate. 
Herald  reporters  recorded  the  chivalric  outburst  of  a  nation  that 
conquered  its  ruler.  When  coronations  or  other  grand  scenes  are 
going  on  anywhere,  the  fullest  accounts  are  always  in  the  Herald. 
Rival  papers  often  sneer  at  the  paper  for  this  reason,  and  com- 
plain that  it  neglects  the  local  and  American  news  for  the  Eu- 
ropean. It  has  more  of  the  latter,  it  is  true,  but  scarcely  to  the 
detriment  of  the  former.  When  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  was 


JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  JR.  583 

shot  in  Australia,  it  was  printed  in  the  Herald,  and  the  news  was 
then  cabled  to  London  from  here.  It  had  originally  come 
through  London  from  a  Herald  correspondent.  In  like  manner 
the  Herald,  when  laying  full  accounts  before  its  readers  here, 
was  the  source  at  second-hand  of  all  the  earliest  information  re- 
ceived by  the  British  government  during  their  own  private  and 
particular  "  little  wars  "  in  Abyssinia,  Ashantee,  and  Afghanistan. 

The  Herald  from  the  first  was  published  every  day  in  the  year, 
but  has  steadily  eschewed  the  special  Sunday  paper  notion.  It 
rarely  publishes  poetry,  and  its  infrequent  "  special "  or  sketchy 
articles  on  anything  but  news  are  of  a  practical  tendency. 

Monarchs  and  prelates  are  among  the  contributors  through  in- 
terviewers, or  sometimes  directly  with  the  Herald,  and  there  is 
scarcely  a  village  on  the  globe  where  some  one  is  not  ready  to 
cable  an  exclusive  message  to  the  paper  on  any  startling  occasion. 
In  the  United  States  and  most  parts  of  Europe  two  or  more  oc- 
casional correspondents  are  registered  and  graded  according  to 
ability.  In  the  case  of  any  sudden  event  one  or  more  are  sure  to 
advise  the  paper,  and  in  return  orders  are  sent  to  them  for  "  skel- 
eton "  or  full  telegrams  of  all  details. 

Ordinarily  the  paper  "  runs  itself."  It  coins  money,  and  yet  so 
liberally  is  it  dispensed  that  prophets  of  •evil  haye  been  looking 
for  results  from  this  alleged  waste  unavailingly  for  years.  The 
men  drawing  salaries  and  belonging  to  the  very  private  and  exclu- 
sive Herald  club  are  very  numerous,  and  the  "outsiders,"  who 
each  week  share  in  the  receipts,  are  innumerable.  It  may  appear 
wasteful  enough,  this  system,  but  the  Herald  evidently  believes  in 
the  maxim,  "  in  time  of  peace  prepare  for  war."  No  emergency  ever 
finds  it  unprepared,  and  its  stallfed  warriors  respond  to  the  bugle 
blast  of  duty  like  the  retainers  of  a  feudal  lord,  or  the  henchmen 
of  a  Highland  chieftain.  And  the  people  know  it.  They  may 
grumble,  and  often  do,  at  having  so  many  advertisements  to  throw 
away,  but  they  somehow  can't  do  without  the  paper,  and  when  a 
murder  occurs  in  Brooklyn,  or  a  revolution  breaks  out  in  China, 


584  JAMES  GORDON  BENNETT,  JR. 

every  one  takes  the  Herald,  for  they  know  that  all  the  news  that 
is  procurable  in  any  possible  way  is  sure  to  be  there.  During  the 
war  the  Herald  printed  the  names  of  all  wounded  soldiers  and 
sailors.  To  collect  these  alone  promptly  after  a  battle  cost  enor- 
mously ;  but  every  one  interested  in  those  fighting  in  front  bought 
the  Herald,  and  the  faith  that  there  is  never  any  excision  for  econ- 
omy remains  unshaken. 

A  bitter  war  has  been  made  on  the  Herald  for  its  reduction  to 
two  cents,  and  its  ruin  was  predicted  as  sure  to  come  at  last  by 
those  whose  wish  was  father  to  the  thought.  There  is  no  doubt 
the  opposition  was  formidable  and  unusually  well  organized ;  but 
Bennett  was  not  the  man  to  falter.  With  indomitable  will  and 
perseverance  he  has  organized  a  distributing  machinery  of  his 
own,  and  while  finding  employment  for  hundreds  of  needy  and 
deserving  persons,  has  accommodated  the  public  and  kept  the 
name  of  the  Herald  before  them  with  characteristic  energy. 

The  income  of  the  Herald  has  steadily  advanced,  and  Mr. 
Bennett's  fortune  with  it.  His  estate  cannot  be  of  less  value 
than  $6,000,000,  and  is  probably  more.  He  lives  extravagantly ; 
his  yachting  tastes  are  very  costly ;  his  latest  steam-yacht  is  a 
large  sea-going  vessel  over  two  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  is 
fitted  up  in  the  most  luxurious  style.  It  is  lit  with  magnificent  bril- 
liancy by  one  hundred  and  fifty  electric  lights,  distributed  through- 
out the  different  parts  of  the  vessel.  He  is  Commodore  of  the 
New  York  Yacht  Club. 

Mr.  Bennett  is  now  about  forty-five  years  of  age,  and  still  a  bache- 
lor. Tall  and  broad-shouldered,  but  slighter  built  than  his  father,  he 
is  quick  and  supple  in  his  motions,  as  those  who  have  watched  him 
in  a  game  of  polo  must  have  recognized.  He  looks  older  than  his 
years  on  account  of  his  nearly  white  hair,  which,  however,  has  only 
taken  on  this  wintry  tinge  quite  recently.  His  features  are 
marked,  the  nose  prominent,  and  he  wears  a  heavy  gray  mous- 
tache. 


JAMES   R.    KEENE. 

MR.  KEENE,  or,  "the  Tycoon,"  as  he  is  familiarly  called,  is  one 
of  those  natural  financiers  whose  capacity  to  deal  with  large 
amounts  and  to  circumvent  the  plots  of  his  adversaries  amounts 
to  genius.  Bred,  as  one  might  say,  in  the  very  atmosphere  of 
metallic  values,  surrounded  by  millionaires  whose  daily  talk  was  of 
gold  and  silver  mines,  whose  existence  seemed  wrapped  up  in 
the  rise  and  fall  of  mining  stocks,  there  was  everything  in  his 
environment  to  nourish  the  innate  taste  for  speculation  which  he  so 
early  developed.  Brought  to  California  by  his  father  in  1854, 
when  he  was  only  thirteen  years  of  age,  he  for  a  short  time  was 
employed  in  a  government  office — a  subordinate  position  in  the 
quartermaster's  department;  but  this  did  not  last  long;  on  his 
journey  to  California  from  London,  his  native  place,  he  had  heard 
constant  talk  of  the  immense  fortunes  made  in  the  mines,  and  he 
very  soon  perceived,  boy  as  he  was,  that  there  was  no  El  Dorado 
for  him  in  the  routine  of  official  life ;  his  brain  was  too  active, 
and  his  desire  to  make  money  too  great  to  be  content  with  the 
small  salaries  paid  by  the  War  Department  to  its  clerks.  His 
first  essay  in  another  direction  was  to  procure  employment  in  a 
broker's  office,  where  he  became  initiated  into  the  vernacular  of 
the  Stock  Exchange  and  learned  something  of  its  modus  opemndi. 
His  next  step  in  the  millionaire's  progress  was  to  secure  the  agency 
of  some  large  firms,  and  while  doing  well  for  his  employers  omitting 
no  favorable  opportunity  to  "take  a  flyer"  for  himself.  Then,  as 
a  curb-stone  broker,  he  worked  his  way  along  until  his  gains 
enabled  him  to  buy  a  seat  in  the  board.  As  a  " free  lance"  he 
had  been  very  reckless,  but  gradually  learned  wisdom  by  experi- 
ence and  early  rose  to  a  commanding  influence  in  the  Stock  Ex- 

(585) 


586  TAMES     R.     KEENE. 

change.  Unlike  the  earlier  pioneers,  he  never  soiled  his  hands 
with  actual  work  in  the  mines,  but  did  as  paying  a  business  by 
watching  the  market,  buying  and  selling  according  to  the  rise  or 
fall  of  mining  and  other  stocks.  There  are  three  Stock  Boards  in 
San  Francisco;  the  first  of  which  was  organized  September  i, 
1862  ;  it  was  modeled  after  the  New  York  Board,  and  called  the 
"San  Francisco  Stock  and  Exchange  Board."  The  "  California 
Stock  Exchange"  followed  in  January,  1872.  The  necessity  for  a 
second  board  was  demonstrated  by  the  inability  of  the  old  board 
to  deal  with  the  increased  amount  of  business  which  followed  upon 
the  "  boom  "  given  to  mining  stocks  by  the  great  success  of  the 
Crown  Point  and  Belcher  mines.  This  association  was  the  pnly 
Stock  Exchange  which  continued  its  daily  sessions  after  the  sus- 
pension of  the  Bank  of  California  and  the  gloomy  days  that  fol- 
lowed. Three  years  later,  in  April,  1875,  a  third  Stock  Board  was 
organized  under  the  name  of  the  "  Pacific  Stock  Exchange,"  and 
business  enough  was  found  to  keep  all  busy,  nor  will  this  appear 
surprising  when  the  great  number  of  mines  listed  is  considered. 
Four  hundred  and  four  "  live"  mines  were  quoted  in  the  Mining 
Review  for  1878 — too  many  it  is  evident  for  any  one  association 
to  deal  in. 

Here  was  material  for  a  James  R.  Keene  to  revel  in,  and 
thoroughly  did  he  master  all  the  details ;  he  has  been  accused  of 
getting  up  "corners"  in  more  prime  necessities  of  life  than  min- 
ing stocks — such  as  oil,  coal  and  wheat,  for  though  commencing 
his  business  career  in  mining  stocks  his  operations  have  extended 
into  very  different  fields.  Like  many  others,  Mr.  Keene  has 
abandoned  the  prolific  fields  of  California,  where  his  great  fortune 
was  made,  and  is  now  domiciled  in  New  York.  It  is  said  that 
many  of  his  friends  in  San  Francisco  anticipated  the  time  when, 
having  been  thoroughly  plucked  by  the  birds  of  prey  in  Wall 
street,  he  would  be  forced  to  return  to  the  golden  haunts  of  his 
youth  and  begin  again  the  struggle  for  wealth  in  San  Francisco. 
Some  of  them  even  measured  out  the  time,  and  prophesied  that  by 


JAMES     R.    KEENE.  587 

such  or  such  a  date  "Jim  Keene  would  be  back  in  'Frisco  look- 
ing for  a  job."  But  Mr.  Keene  has  not  yet  gone  back ;  he  has 
met  in  the  arena  of  Broad  street  the  "  bulls  "  and  "  bears  "  of  New 
Yqrk,  but  they  have  not  even  wounded  him ;  he  holds  his  own 
with  the  most  expert  of  the  "  Wall  street  crowd,"  and  having  safely 
passed  his  first  degrees,  is  progressing  rapidl-y  to  the  Royal  Arch, 
where  sit  the  "  railroad  kings  "  in  pleasant  company  ready  to  greet 
James  R.  Keene  as  a  peer  and  brother. 

When  the  Senate  Committee  on  "  Corners "  and  "  Futures " 
held  their  sessions  recently  in  New  York,  Mr.  Keene  was  invited 
to  appear  before  them  to  give  his  views,  and  such  facts  as  he 
chose  on  the  subject,  and  of  all  the  expert  witnesses  who  testified 
before  that  committee  Mr.  Keene's  replies  were  the  clearest  and 
most  intelligible ;  many  of  the  experts  persisted  in  giving  such 
vague  and  indefinite  answers  that  nothing  could  be  learned  from 
them ;  Mr.  Keene  testified  willingly,  and  withheld  nothing  except 
the  names  of  individuals,  though  he  submitted  to  an  examination 
occupying  two  hours.  He  admitted  having  been  a  speculator 
for  twenty  years,  showing  that  he  must  have  commenced  very 
young.  One  of  the  questions  called  out  a  piece  of  personal 
history  quite  germane  to  our  subject,  and  we  give  the  answer 
entire. 

O.  "A  good  deal  has  been  said  about  the  Keene  corner  in  wheat, 
in  1879.  We  would  like  you  to  explain  that  to  the  committee." 
A.  "Well  that  occurred  so  long  ago  that  I  have  forgotten  all 
about  it.  I  have  never  engaged  in  a  corner  in  my  life ;  never,  sir. 
I  suppose  it  is  called  the  Keene  corner  because  I  was  the  central 
one  in  a  company  which  owned  at  this  time  a  large  amount  of 
wheat.  But  that  combination  was  not  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
cornering  the  market,  but  for  defending  certain  persons  against 
others  who  were  bearing  the  market  down.  The  syndicate  dis- 
banded before  the  wheat  they  held  was  sold  out.  The  members 
of  that  syndicate  concluded  that  the  price  of  wheat  would  be  at  a 
certain  rate.  They  had  calculated  every  contingency  of  home  and 


5$S  JAMES     R.     KEENE. 

foreign  demand.  But  a  hue  and  cry  of  a  corner  was  raised  and 
circulated  in  the  press ;  consumption  was  withheld,  and  finally  it 
compelled  us  to  sell  out  at  a  loss.  I  think  we  held  about  twenty 
millions  of  bushels  of  wheat.  Some  of  the  syndicate  got  out,  leav- 
ing two  or  three  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  depression.  It  is  not 
true  that  the  syndicate  refused  to  sell  wheat  during  the  corner. 
Wheat  was  sold  all  through  the  corner  in  large  quantities.  One 
reason  that  the  wheat  did  not  come  to  New  York  was  because  the 
price  was  lower  in  New  York  than  in  Chicago.  Nobody  was 
going  to  bring  wheat  here  then.  I  do  not  think  the  consumer 
suffered  much,  as  the  corner  was  of  short  duration.  Another  rea- 
son why  we  could  not  bring  the  wheat  to  market  was  because  the 
railroads  charged  too  high  freight ;  it  was  exorbitant.  It  was  prac- 
tically a  corner  in  freight.  If  the  freights  had  not  been  so  large 
we  should  have  moved  our  material.  The  present  rates  of  rail- 
road transportation  are  far  more  disastrous  than  any  corner  in 
anything  that  comes  to  my  mind  at  the  present  time.  These  rates 
make  a  corner,  and  they  are  arbitrarily  fixed  by  Mr.  Fink  and  other 
railroad  men.  The  present  rates  are  entirely  out  of  proportion  to 
the  service  that  is  given  for  them.  It  is  an  unnecessary  tax  on 
producers  and  consumers." 

Q.  "  How  much  greater  are  these  rates  of  railroad  transporta- 
tion than  they  should  be?"  A.  "Twenty-five  per  cent,  at  least 
too  high.  They  are  arbitrary  rates,  and  they  of  course  increase 
the  price  of  all  products.  They  have  a  baneful  effect  upon  all 
business.  High  rates  always  diminish  export.  I  think  the  injury 
inflicted  by  corners  is  overestimated.  I  do  not  know  what  you 
mean  by  overspeculation." 

Dr.  Boyd. — "All  these  speculations  make  money,  don't  they  ?  " 
Mr.  Keene. — "You  have  never  been  in  Wall  street,  I  judge." 
Another  response  of  Mr.  Keene  may  interest  some  of  our  read- 
ers who  are  not  familiar  with  the  modus  operandi  of  some  of  our 
railroad  and  other  corporations,  Mr.  Keene  having  given  it  as  his 
experience  that  the  only  "  corner  "  he  had  ever  known  which  was 


JAMES     R.     KEENE.  589 

injurious  to  the  community  was  one  in  coal ;  and,  referring  to  the 
coal  company  concerned  in  it,  said :  "  So  much  water  has  been  put 
into  the  stock,  that  they  had  to  advance  the  price  of  coal  to  exces-: 
sive  rates." 

O.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  water  ?"     A.  "  Well,  watering  stock 
means    increasing   the   capital   without   any  equivalent.      It   also* 
means  the  private  purchase  by  persons  inside  the  corporation  of 
property  at  one  valuation,  and  the  sale  of  it  to  the  corporation  at 
a  large  advance." 

There  is  a  good  story  told  of  Mr.  Keene  having  inadvertently 
given*  away  "  points  "  in  a  manner  not  usual  to  careful  financiers, 
and  the  story  rests  on  sufficiently  good  authority  to  warrant  its 
introduction  here ;  it  was  told,  it  is  said,  by  Mr.  Keene  himself 
while  dining  with  Mr.  Samuel  WTard,  of  New  York.  The  discus- 
sion had  been  on  the  possibility  or  impossibility  of  a  man's  keep- 
ing stock  operations  secret  until  the  moment  for  action  arrived, 
when  Mr.  Keene  remarked :  "  It  is  no  matter  how  shrewd  a  man 
may  be  there  is  constantly  some  little  unforeseen  circumstance  oc- 
curring which  upsets  all  one's  calculations."  "  How  ?  In  what 
way?"  asked  one  of  the  guests.  "Well,  like  this,  for  instance:  a 
few  years  ago  I  was  doing  a  good  deal  in  Lake  Shore,  and  counted 
on  making  a  big  thing.  Very  shortly  I  discovered,  however,  that 
there  was  some  influence  in  the  market  against  me  which  I  couldn't 
fathom  ;  it  was  not  sufficient  to  counteract  my-plans,  but  it  reduced 
the  profits.  It  was  evident  that  some  one  had  a  clue  to  my  inten- 
tions in  time  to  be  beforehand  twith  me."  "  Broker  gave  you 
away,"  suggested  several  in  one  breath.  "  No ;  I  never  gave  a- 
broker  the  chance,  never  giving  orders  in  advance ;  besides  I 
always  forestalled  that  sort  of  thing  with  dummy  orders.  One 
day,  as  I  stood  at  my  window  thinking  over  the  mystery,  I  noticed 
an  elegant  coupe  stop  a  little  distance  off.  Should  have  thought 
nothing  of  it,  had  I  not  seen  that  a  richly-dressed  lady  in  it  had 
with  her  a  very  poorly-dressed,  shabby-looking  girl.  Presently 
the  latter  got  out,  went  below  and  rang  my  basement-bell,  and 


5QO  JAMES     R.    KEENE. 

• 

evidently  entered  the  house ;  I  rang  for  my  man  and  inquired  who 
the  girl  was.  He  answered  that  '  she  came  for  the  wash.'  '  Does 
she  generally  come  in  a  coupe?'  I  asked.  'Why,  no,  of  coorse 
not ;  her  mother  is  rale  poor,'  was  the  answer.  As  my  own  car- 
riage had  now  come  for  me,  I  hastened  out  and  got  in ;  as  we 
passed  the  coupe,  which  still  remained  in  the  same  spot,  I  looked 
in,  and  was  astounded  to  see  the  lady  with  some  of  the  soiled 
clothes  on  her  lap,  evidently  overlooking  them,  for  some  other 
than  laundry  purposes.  At  first  the  thought  occurred  to  me  that 
it  was  some  one  who  hoped  to  find  a  stray  diamond  stud,  or  some- 
thino-  of  that  sort.  I  determined  to  find  out  what  it  meant;  so  I 

£} 

ordered  my  driver  to  keep  the  coupe  in  sight  and  follow  it.  We 
had  not  gone  far  when  it  was  stopped  at  a  brown-stone  front  on 
Twenty-ninth  street ;  the  girl  got  out  with  the  bundle,  which  she 
took  into  the  house,  and  the  coupe  with  the  lady  turned  round  and 
went  down-town  ;  they  stopped  before  a  broker's  orifice  in  Wall 
street,  where  the  lady  alighted,  and  though  she  tried  to  conceal 
what  she  had  with  her,  by  her  handkerchief  I  was  convinced  she 
had  a  lot  of  my  shirt-cuffs  in  her  hands."  "  Shirt-cuffs  !  and  what 
did  she  want  of  your  shirt-cuffs?"  burst  from  one  and  another  of 
the  listeners.  "Well,  you  see,"  answered  Mr.  Keene,  "I  am,  or 
rather  was,  in  the  habit,  when  away  from  my  orifice,  especially  in 
the  evening,  of  taking  my  pencil  and  putting  down  notes  of  what 
I  intended  to  do  inxthe  morning  on  my  cuffs,  and  by  Jove  if  the 
woman  hadn't  been  smart  enough  to  make  out  my  figuring,  and 
had  been  coppering  my  game  for  over  a  year,  and  in  eight  months 
she  had  cleaned  up  over  $600,000."  General  exclamations  of 
astonishment  broke  in  upon  the  narrator.  "  I  guess  you  didn't 
make  tablets  of  your  cuffs  after  that  ?  "  "  Just  a  few  more — enough 
to  rake  in  that  woman's  bank  account,  and  put  a  mortgage  on  her 
fine  house — that's  all." 

Since  Mr.  Keene  came  to  New  York  there  have  been  many 
rumors  of  his  insolvency,  but  without  any  foundation.  It  is  sur- 
prising how  quickly  every  little  incident  connected  with  these 


JAMES     R.    KEENE.  59! 

popular  financiers  is  seized  upon  by  the  curiosity-mongers,  exag- 
gerated, and  then,  often  utterly  distorted,  reaches  the  daily  press 
and  receives  widespread  circulation  as  truth,  usually  to  be  contra- 
dicted in  a  few  days.  In  the  spring  of  1883  Mr.  Keene  saw  fit  to 
sell  one  of  his  well-known  and  valuable  paintings,  or,  rather,  the 
agent  whom  he  employed  to  try  and  sell  pictures  for  him  disposed 
of  a  Rosa  Bonheur,  at  what  was  thought  a  low  figure,  to  Mr.  Jay 
Gould.  It  happened,  about  the  same  time,  that  he  had  also 
mortgaged  some  property  at  Newport ;  immediately  the  story  flew 
from  mouth  to  mouth  that  J.  R.  Keene  was  weakening  financially, 
and  his  failure  might  be  expected  at  any  moment.  The  explana- 
tion given  by  the  subject  of  these  reports  was  that  his  agent,  Mr. 
Pondir  (known  as  the  "Apollo  of  Wall  street"),  had  bought  the 
picture  for  his  employer,  as  he  had  many  others,  but  that  it  having 
been  criticised,  and  Mr.  Keene  having  in  consequence  lost  his 
admiration  for  it,  Mr.  Pondir,  to  justify  his  judgment  in  its 'pur- 
chase, had  bought  "  a  call "  on  the  picture  for  a  year  from  Mr. 
Keene  for  $1,000,  and,  in  fact,  instead  of  its  having  been  bought 
for  $24,000  and  sold  for  $16,000,  Mr.  Keene  averred  that  he  had 
made  over  $5,000  by  the  transfer.  And  as  to  the  Newport  property, 
he  had  bought  the  place  for  $40*000,  including  a  cottage  upon  it ; 
this  house  was  burned  down,  and  he  mortgaged  what  was  left  of 
the  estate  for  nearly  twice  the  value  of  the  purchase-money.  Mr. 
Keene's  family  was  also  just  about  going  to  Europe,  the  latter, 
consisting  of  his  wife  and  two  children,  expecting  to  remain  abroad 
three  years ;  hence,  he  said,  he  might  yet  sell  more  pictures,  and 
even  some  of  his  horses — he  had  in  the  spring  about  a  hundred 
— and  that  even  if  he  did. that  would  not  forebode  his  failure. 

Mr.  Keene's  name,  it  will  be  remembered,  became  suddenly 
celebrated  on  the  turf  a' couple  of  years  ago  (in  1881)  through  one 
of  his  favorite  horses  (Foxhall),  which  won  the  Grand  Prix  in 
Paris ;  out  of  the  sum  awarded  Mr.  Keene  as  victor  he  presented 
5,000  francs  to  the  poor  of  that  city.  The  present  year  (1883)  he 
made  some  minor  successes  in  England,  but  nothing  so  brilliant  as 


592  JAMES     R.    KEENE. 

nis  experience  in  1881.  For  some  reason  the  English  turfmen 
seem  exceedingly  wary  about  entering  any  of  Mr.  Keene's  stock, 
though  the  Burwell  stakes  were  won  at  Newmarket  in  May  by  his 
three-year-old  chestnut  colt,  Blue  Grass.  It  is  said  that  he  pa^s 
the  jockey,  Tom  Cannon,  £1,500  for  first  claim  on  his  services. 

Mr.  Keene's  latest  million  was  gained  in  May,  1883,  in  petroleum 
stock,  of  which  he  had  a  large  quantity,  buying  at  ninety-two  and 
ninety-three,  and  quietly  getting  rid  of  his  load  at  one  hundred 
and  twenty.  In  politics  Mr.  Keene  is  a  Democrat,  though  he 
takes  no  active  part  in  either  municipal  or  State  affairs.  He 
is  a  good-looking  man,  with  a  penetrating,  dark-gray  eye  and  a 
general  air  of  intellectual  force,  with  a  strong  Spanish  cast  of 
features. 

On  the  last  day  of  April,  1884,  Mr.  Keene  issued  a  card  announc- 
ing his  inability  to  meet  his  obligations.  In  his  effort  to  maintain  his 
position  upon  a  falling  market,  he  paid  out  within  a  few  months 
$1,000,000.  His  failure  excited  less  surprise  than  it  would  have 
done  previously,  because  rumors  of  his  financial  difficulties  were 
afloat.  Mr.  Keene  was  a  heavy  dealer  in  "  puts  and  calls,  "  a  sys- 
tem of  business  which  demanded  a  large  capital  and  great  financial 
astuteness,  and  a  heavy  decline  in  the  market,  following  a  pro- 
longed depression,  involved  him  hopelessly.  He  went  into  Wall 
Street  worth  from  $10,000,000  to  $15,000,000,  and  lost  the  whole 
of  it.  His  residence  at  Newport  was  offered  for  sale  the  day 
after  his  failure.  Opinions  varied  as  to  the  extent  of  his  losses 
when  the  event  was  announced,  and  it  is  difficult  to  predict  the 
precise  financial  condition  of  this  great  California  speculator.  He 
will  likely  come  to  the  front  again,  and  renew  his  speculations. 
He  is  the  owner  of  a  number  of  fine  race-horses,  which  have  won 
purses  both  in  this  country  and  England.  •  His  celebrated  Foxhall 
won  the  Grand  Prix  Stakes  in  Paris,  and  the  three  great  stakes  in 
England,  and  Mr.  Keene  cleared  over  $500,000  on  these  events. 
While  owning  fine  horses  he  has  not  been  known  as  a  better  to 
any  extent,  and  has  seemed  to  care  for  this  kind  of  property  from 
a  money-making  stand-point  mainly. 


VIEW  OF  WALL  STREET. 


RUSSELL   SAGE. 

RUSSELL  SAGE  is  one  of  the  interesting  characters  in  Wall  street ; 
we  say  "Wall  street"  as  indicative  of  his  profession  as  a  financier 
rather  than  his  precise  location,  for  his  office  is  on  the  lower  part 
of  Broadway,  not  far  from  the  financial  centre  of  the  metropolis 
and  the  roar  of  the  Stock  Exchange;  this  building  also  shelters 
the  office  of  Jay  Gould,  a  corner  with  many  other  bankers,  brokers 
and  financiers.  Mr.  Russell  Sage  occupies  two  small  rooms, 
which  are  reached  by  one  short  flight  of  stairs,  and  in  the  outer 
room  the  first  notice  which  strikes  the  eye  of  the  visitor  is  this, 
"  No  smoking  allowed  here."  These  offices  are  neither  spa- 
ciocs  nor  handsomely  furnished ;  but  the  occupant  is  there  for 
business,  not  for  show,  and  there  are  few  shrewder  men  than  he  in 
the  management  of  his  own  funds  or  other  people's. 

Mr.  Sage  is  a  native  of  Oneida  county,  New  York,  and  was 
born  about  1823.  At  the  early  age  of  ten  years  he  was  employed 
in  a  grocery  store  in  Troy,  filling  successively  the  role  of  errand 
boy,  clerk,  salesman  and  proprietor,  first  of  a  retail  and  then  of  a 
wholesale  grocery  business.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was 
proprietor  of  a  store,  and  from  that  time  until  the  present  has 
never  had  any  very  serious  set-back  in  life ;  but,  if  he  has  been 
more  uniformly  successful  than  many  of  his  contemporaries,  it  has 
not  been  without  constant  care  and  diligence  on  his  part.  Not 
only  in  his  business  was  his  standing  and  credit  among  the  first  in 
the  city  of  Troy,  but  as  a  man  of  affairs  his  capacity  was  very 
generally  recognized ;  he  was  for  seven  years  alderman,  and  for 
an  equal  length  of  time  held  the  very  responsible  position  of  county 
treasurer. 

Having  given  proof  cf  his  capacity  ;n  these  positions,  his  towns- 
38  (593) 


594  RUSSELL     SAGE. 

men  elected  him  to  Congress  in  1853,  in  which  position  he  re- 
mained four  years.  During  this  period  Mr.  Sage  was  instrumental 
in  saving  Mount  Vernon  from  the  neglect  and  decay  into  which  it 
had  been  allowed  to  fall.  He  introduced,  and  eloquently  advo- 
cated a  bill  for  the  preservation  by  the  nation  of  the  home  of 
Washington.  Efforts  had  been  made  by  other  parties  before,  but 
either  from  the  mode  in  which  the  matter  was  presented,  or  that 
the  motions  were  ill-timed,  no  essential  progress  had  been  made  ; 
be  this  as  it  may,  to  Mr.  Sage  belongs  the  credit  of  having  pro- 
cured the  appointment  of  the  committee,  which  led  to  the  formation 
of  the  Mount  Vernon  Association,  and  the  purchase  and  renova- 
tion of  the  home  of  the  first  President  of  the  United  States — the 
"  Father  of  his  country,"  General  Washington. 

It  was  in  1861  that  Mr.  Sage  made  his  appearance  in  Wall 
street,  and  though  not  operating  on  so  large  a  scale  as  a  few 
others,  he  has  kept  well  up  with  the  procession  ever  since.  His 
interests  have  been  widely  diversified,  dealing  in  stocks  and  real 
estate,  in  building  and  buying  railroads,  banking,  and  selling 
"  privileges."  His  real  estate  in  the  West  and  in  New  York  State 
and  city  is  extremely  large;  hundreds  of  acres  in  the  West,  and 
scores  of  building  lots  in  New  York.  Mr.  Sage  enjoys  his  busi- 
ness, and  has  no  desire  for  foreign  travel ;  he  says  "  New  York  is 
good  enough  for  him."  He  is  not  so  conspicuous  in  the  market 
as  Field,  Gould,  Vanderbilt,  and  that  limited  class  of  men,  but  is 
said  to  have  always  on  hand,  and  available  for  instant  use  at  any 
moment,  more  ready  cash  than  any  of  the  Wall  street  magnates  ;  he 
is  not  averse  to  joining  promising  syndicates,  but  he  is  not  the 
man  to  go  into  "  blind  pools "  rashly;  he  is  very  cautious,  and 
prefers  a  rapid  succession  of  small  risks,  and  quick  returns;  he 
calculates  on  raking  a  few  hundred  out  of  the  street  every  day—- 
sometimes it  is  thousands  in  a  few  hours ;  he  does  not  hesitate  to 
show  some  elation  if  he  has  made  a  very  good  day's  work,  but 
gives  no  sign  if  he  has  met  with  losses. 

Mr.  Sage  has  been  largely  concerned  in  the  building  of  Western 


RUSSELL    SAGE.  595 

railroads — some  3,000  miles  he  claims  to  have  constructed  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country,  between  Western  New  York  and  Min- 
nesota. Of  course  he  has  had  his  hands  in  oil,  and  has  recently 
dealt  largely  in  privileges  on  petroleum.  He  is  rather  a  favorite 
in  financial  circles,  and  though  an  elderly  man,  is  reckoned  with 
the  "  boys ; "  he  is  not  of  the  kind  that  grows  old  visibly,  and  so 
as  to  strike  the  attention ;  he  is  very  plain  in  his  habits,  and  fre- 
quently takes  a  modest  lunch  in  the  office,  instead  of  patronizing 
Delmonico,  as  he  might  with  the  loss  of  a  few  minutes  from  his 
desk,  but  this  spot  he  chains  himself  to  till  after  bank  hours,  when 
his  one  luxury,  a  drive  in  Central  Park,  is  in  order.  He  never 
uses  wine  or  tobacco,  and  consequently  keeps  a  very  clear  head. 
His  amiability  is  proverbial,  and  his  manner  very  familiar  to  those 
with  whom  he  is  well  acquainted  ;  as  for  instance,  though  he  may 
be  talking  with  a  man  nearly  his  own  age,  he  will  lay  his  hand  on 
his  shoulder,  and  call  him  "  My  son  ! "  half  a  dozen  times  in  the 
course  of  a  few  minutes'  conversation ;  he  has  no  enemies — says 
he  never  indulges  in  that  luxury. 

Mr.  Sage  is  one  of  the  few  Wall  street  men  who  will  "  give  his 
friends  a  point ;  "  there  are  several  persons  now  living  who  have 
made  fortunes  out  of  hints  received  from  him.  The  Troy  Times 
of  May  n,  1 88 1,  mentions  several  instances  of  this  kind:  one,  a 
gentleman  now  in  the  West,  who  admitted  that  out  of  a  fortune  of 
$600,000 Which  he  possessed,  "at  least  $400,000  was  due  to  the 
advice  and  assistance  of  Russell  Sage."  Another  instance  is  that 
of  a  certain  bank  cashier,  to  whom  this  acute  financier  was  friendly, 
and  who  had  made  $300,000,  from  "  points  "  given  him  by  Sage. 
Then  there  is  the  very  striking  case  of  the  late  James  Buell, 
formerly  of  Troy,  who  left  an  estate  of  between  two  and  three 
millions.  He  was  a  particular  friend  of  Russell  Sage,  and  he  freely 
admitted  that  the  latter  pointed  out  to  him  investments  and  specu- 
lations, from  which  he  had  made  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars. 
Mr.  Sage's  private  benevolence,  in  which  he  is  warmly  seconded 
by  his  estimable  wife,  takes  a  very  liberal  range,  and  many  in- 


gg6  RUSSELL     SAGE. 

stances  are  quoted,  where  he  has  not  only  given  largely,  and  in 
some  cases  made  annual  pensioners  of  the  needy,  but  also  in 
others,  where  the  greater  service  has  been  rendered  of  putting  the 
bankrupt  and  the  unfortunate  in  a  way  to  retrieve  their  fortunes. 
But  this  kind-heartedness  is  not  shown  in  the  way  of  any  leniency 
in  trade ;  if  you  deal  with  Russell  Sage  in  "  puts  "  and  "  calls,"  or 
"privileges,"  you  must  not  expect  any  remission  of  your  obliga- 
tions ;  "  business  is  business  "  with  him,  as  with  all  successful  men; 
if  they  were  mot  sharp,  and  "took  the  letter  of  their  bond,"  they 
would  soon  go  under  in  the  scramble  and  pressure  of  life  about 
them. 

To  a  friend,  who  had  heard  that  "  Mr.  Sage  had  made  large  do- 
nations to  Cornell  University"  (this  was  really  Mr.  Henry  W. 
Sage,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York),  and  who  was  about  to  compliment 
him  on  it,  he  said :  "  No,  I  have  not  given  anything  to  Cornell  nor 
to  Vassar,  but  may  do  so  in  the  coming  by-and-by."  It  is  very 
pleasant  to-  meet  with  a  man  who  can  keep  his  heart  fresh  and 
open  to  the  claims  of  charity,  while  still  in  the  midst  of  his  money- 
making.  What  Mr.  Sage's  fortune  amounts  to  is  somewhat  prob- 
lematical, but  it  is  not  placed  by  any  one  on  the  street  at  less  than 
$8,000,000,  and  many  estimate  it  at  three  times  that  amount.  He 
is  a  member  of  an  Evangelical  church  in  New  York,  not  far  from 
his  residence  on  Fifth  avenue. 


WM.  S.   O'BRIEN. 


WILLIAM    S.  O'BRIEN. 

THE  late  William  S.  O'Brien  is  now  best  remembered  as  the 
original  partner  of  James  C.  Flood,  and  for  the  bequests  which  he 
left  to  charitable  institutions  at  his  death.  In  the  early  history  of 
these  two  millionaires  they  kept  together  a  restaurant  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, called  the  ''Auction  Lunch,"  on  Washington  street  near 
Sansom,  which  was  much  resorted  to  by  miners  returning  from 
the  "diggings,"  who  came  to  the  city  either  to  invest  or  spend 
their  gains — sometimes  to  send  their  hard-earned  gold  to  the  East 
to  waiting  wives  and  little  ones.  Naturally  these  men,  who  were 
from  different  countries  and  various  mining  districts,  would  talk 
over  their  experiences  with  each  other,  and  much  local  lore  was  to 
be  learned  from  this  unrestrained  interchange  of  views.  The 
wary  hosts  took  mental  note  of  all  this  talk,  and  were  soon  au  fait 
in  all  the  particulars,  qualities,  and  prospects  of  the  mining  region. 
It  was  in  this  way  that  they  got  their  first  idea  of  the  superior 
richness  of  the  mines  in  Nevada,  and  abandoning  the  tavern  busi- 
ness they  turned  their  attention  to  the  more  promising  Hale,  and 
Norcross,  and  Kentuck  mines,  then  having  the  best  repute  on  the 
Comstock  lode.  The  result  of  this  speculation  is  sufficiently  told 
in  the  sketch  of  Mr.  James  C.  Flood,  and  need  not  be  repeated 
here.  Mr.  O'Brien  died  in  1879,  and  Mr.  Flood,  with  James  V. 
Coleman,  was  appointed  executor  of  his  friend's  estate. 

Mr.  Coleman  was  a  nephew  of  O'Brien's,  and  as  the  latter  was  a 
bachelor,  without  nearer  relatives,  young  Coleman  was  considered 
exceptionally  lucky.  The  latter  was  acting  as  a  clerk  at  a  mine  in 
Nevada  at  the  modest  salary  of  $100  per  month,  when  Mr.  O'Brien 
being  taken  ill  sent  for  him  to  remain  with  and  care  for  him.  Be- 
fore his  death  he  presented  him  with  $500,000  in  United  States 

(597) 


593 


WILLIAM     S.    O  BRIEN. 


four  per  cents.  In  addition  to  this  his  favorite  "Jemmie"  received 
an  equal  share  of  the  estate,  with  the  other  nephews  and  nieces, 
and  was  appointed  one  of  the  executors  "  without  bonds,"  which 
was  equivalent  to  another  $464,000:  the  value  of  Mr.  O'Brien's 
estate  being-  between  $9,000,000  and  $10,000,000.  After  the  pay- 
ment of  the  legacies  to  be  described,  Mr.  O'Brien's  sisters  (one 
of  them  Mr.  Coleman's  mother)  were  made  residuary  legatees, 
each  lady  receiving  $3,500,000  as  her  share.  The  favorite  nephew 
is  a  young  man  now  about  thirty-three  years  of  age  ;  is  a  graduate 
of  Georgetown  College  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  has  taken 
to  politics — his  aim  being  a  seat  in  Congress. 

Seven  nephews  and  nieces  received  $300,000  each.  To  the 
Roman  Catholic  Orphan  Asylum  at  San  Rafael  Mr.  O'Brien  left 
$50,000.  To  the  Roman  Catholic  Orphan  Asylum  in  San  Fran- 
cisco $30,000.  To  the  Protestant  Orphan  Asylum  in  San  Fran- 
cisco $20,000.  Considerable  litigation  ensued  in  regard  to  this 
estate :  among  other  claimants  a  Mr.  Buck  sued  the  estate,  and  it 
was  in  regard  to  this  claim  that  Mr.  James  C.  Flood  testified  that 
he,  John  W.  Mackay,  James  G.  Fair,  and  the  deceased,  W.  S. 
O'Brien,  were  the  sole  owners  of  the  stock  of  the  Pacific  Mill 
Company  of  Virginia,  Nevada,  amounting  to  80,000  shares ;  but 
beyond  that  there  was  very  little  that  he  could  remember.  In  the 
final  application  for  settlement  and  distribution  of  the  estate, 
Judge  Finn,  of  the  Probate  Department  of  the  Superior  Court  of 
San  Francisco,  directed  that  $1,000,000  in  United  States  bonds 
should  be  retained  by  the  court  to  pay  possible  judgments  against 
the  estate  in  the  litigation  instituted  by  the  Consolidated  Virginia 
Mining  Company. 

He  was  a  man  of  generous  impulses,  and  always  ready  to  help  a 
friend ;  and  there  are  scores  of  people  doing  well  in  San  Francisco 
to-day,  who  owe  their  first  lift  in  life  to  the  good  advice  and  ma- 
terial aid  furnished  them  by  William  S.  O'Brien,  while  thousands 
of  orphan  children  will  bless  in  time  to  come  the  name  of  him  who 
has  bequeathed  for  their  support  and  instruction  such  princely 
revenues. 


JOHN    ROACH. 

WHO  has  not  heard  of  John  Roach,  the  great  shipbuilder  at 
Chester  on  the  Delaware — the  man  who  built  the  first  full-rigged 
iron  ship  in  the  United  States,  and  who  has  recently  completed  his 
hundredth  iron  vessel  ?  These  ships,  turned  out  of  his  yard,  rep- 
resent no  less  a  sum  than  $35,000,000,  and  this  industry  involves 
an  annual  pay-roll  of  $587,000.  Though  for  many  years  at  the 
head  of  this  immense  business,  Mr.  Roach  commenced  life  as  a 
poor  boy,  working  for  twelve  shillings  a  week ;  and  when  this 
firm,  which  paid  such  low  wages,  failed,  Mr.  Roach  "went  West" 
in  search  of  something  better  there ;  he  himself  says  "  he  became 
a  tramp  on  the  Illinois  prairies,"  not  having  money  enough  to  pay 
his  way.  On  inquiring  what  wages  he  could  get  on  a  farm  per  week, 
he  was  told  "  three  times  as  much  corn  as  he  could  carry  away  on 
his  back."  In  his  prime  he  employed  three  thousand  workmen  in 
twenty-five  different  branches  of  industry,  and  in  1882  repaired 
and  fitted  out  more  ships  than  there  are  in  commission  in  the  navy 
of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Roach  passed  through  many  business 
vicissitudes  before  establishing  his  famous  shipbuilding  firm  of 
"  John  Roach  &  Son  "  on  the  shores  of  the  Delaware,  to  which 
river  his  establishment  added  the  sobriquet  of  "  the  American 
Clyde,"  and  to  his  own  name  that  of  "  the  father  of  iron-ship- 
building in  America  ;  "  and  yet  this  business  at  Chester  was  only 
commenced  by  the  Roaches  in  1871,  the  population  of  the  place 
being  then  about  5,000 — it  is  now  nearly  20,000,  owing  in  great 
measure  to  the  impetus  given  to  the  general  business  of  the  place 
through  these  large  works.  This  ship-yard  extends  for  about  half 
a  mile  along  the  river  front,  with  a  depth  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  Among  the  famous  ships  which  have  been  built  here  per- 

(599) 


600  JOHN     ROACH. 

haps  none  have  attracted  more  attention  than  the  sister  steamers, 
built  for  the  China  trade  for  merchants  in  San  Francisco — the 
"  City  of  Peking  "  and  the  "  City  of  Tokio  " — each  costing  over  a 
million  of  dollars ;  these  vessels  are  419  feet  in  length,  with  a  ton- 
nage of  5,079,  being  excelled  in  size  only  by  the  "Great  Eastern" 
and  two  or  three  other  vessels;  as  ocean-going  steamers  these 
ships  were  as  nearly  perfect  in  their  equipments  as  money,  skill 
and  human  ingenuity  could  devise.  One  of  the  fastest  ships  on 
the  Atlantic,  by  Mr.  Roach's  statement,  leading  all  others  of  her 
class,  was  the  "  Newport,"  running  to  Havana ;  her  speed  is  sixteen 
knots  an  hour.  Such  a  favorite  did  she  become  on  this  route  that 
it  was  necessary  for  those  desiring  passage  on  her  to  engage  state- 
rooms weeks  beforehand.  In  all  of  the  steamers  built  by  Mr. 
Roach  for  passenger  traffic  the  most  approved  devices  for  protec- 
tion against  fire  and  other  accidents  were  amply  provided.  The 
"  City  of  Para  "  and  the  "  Rio  Janeiro,"  built  for  the  Brazilian  trade, 
had  such  a  reputation  for  speed  that  they  were  eagerly  bought  up 
by  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company. 

Mr.  Roach  was  ever  alive  to  all  the  possibilities  of  improvement, 
especially  in  the  interior  arrangements  for  the  convenience  and 
comfort  of  passengers.  In  one  of  his  Havana  steamers,  the  "  City 
of  Washington,"  the  arrangements  for  dining  included  the  possi- 
bility of  privacy  when  desired,  separate  rooms  being  arranged  so 
that  they  could  be  isolated  at  will  and  entirely  cut  off  from  the 
main  saloon,  this  being  the  first  instance  in  which  this  plan 
was  introduced  on  an  ocean  steamer.  Another  splendid  passen- 
ger-steamer was  the  "  Pilgrim,"  built  for  the  Fall  River  line,  which 
became  a  great  favorite  with  the  travelling  public  as  soon  as  her 
qualities  and  accommodations  became  known.  This  was  an  im- 
mense boat— three  hundred  and  eighty-six  feet  in  length — the 
largest  side-wheel  steamer  ever  constructed;  but  this  is  not  her 
chief  or  most  valuable  peculiarity ;  she  had  a  complete  double 
hull,  the  inner  being  as  strongly  built  as  the  outer,  and  between 
these  two  hulls  she  was  provided  with  ninety-six  water-tight  com- 


JOHN    ROACH.  6O I 

partments  ;  she  was  built  on  the  same  principle  as  the  British  war 
vessel,  the  "  Inflexible,"  which  took  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  bom- 
bardment of  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  but  the  "  Pilgrim,"  it  was  claimed, 
was  far  stronger  than  the  naval  craft.  That  extraordinarily  long 
ferry-boat  plying  between  New  York  and  Hunter's  Point,  called 
the  "  Garden  City,"  was  also  built  at  the  yard  of  John  Roach  & 
Son. 

The  most  peculiar  vessel  built  by  this  firm,  and,  as  we  believe, 
the  fastest  sailer  ever  afloat,  was  the. famous  turtleback  yacht,  the 
"Yosemite,"  built  for  Mr.  William  Belden,  of  New  York ;  she  is 
unique  in  her  construction,  and  on  her  trial  trip  made  twenty-two 
miles  an  hour !  She  is  also  immensely  staunch  and  strong,  which 
strength  was  unfortunately  tested  soon  after  delivery  to  her  owner 
by  an  accident  which  occurred  on  the  Hudson  near  West  Point, 
when  she  cut  a  large  steamer  in  two  without  herself  sustaining  any 
damage.  This  remarkable  vessel  is  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven 
feet  six  inches  over  all,  twenty-three  feet  ten  inches  beam,  with  a 
depth  of  fifteen  feet  ten  inches,  her  tonnage  four  hundred  and 
eighty-one.  But  to  enumerate  even  a  small  fraction  of  the 
superior  vessels  built  by  Mr.  Roach  would  far  exceed  the  limits  of 
this  chapter.  His  yard  was  famous,  not  only  for  the  excellence  of 
the  largest  class  of  ships,  but  also  for  small  sail-boats,  and  even 
row-boats,  each  receiving  the  best  treatment  adapted  to  its  par- 
ticular class.  But  of  all  their  work  "  Roach  &  Son  "  were  particu- 
larly proud  of  that  "  successful  experiment,"  the  "  Tillie  E.  Star- 
buck  ;  "  this  was  a  full-rigged  sailing  ship,  the  first  of  its  class  ever 
built  of  iron.  It  was  employed  in  the  freighting  trade  between  New 
York  and  Oregon,  and  was  of  light  draught  to  enable  her  to  cross 
with  her  cargo  over  the  bar  of  the  Columbia  river.  Her  capacity 
was  4,250  tons.  This  ship  was  built  under  a  special  survey  of  the 
"  Bureau  Veritas,"  and  the  surveyor,  on  her  completion,  pronounced 
her  the  strongest  and  altogether  the  best  built  vessel  which  had  ever 
passed  under  his  inspection,  and  was  classed  accordingly.  She 
carried  three  masts,  which  were  hollow  and  made  of  the  best  fire- 


6O2  JOHN    ROACH. 

box  steel,  seven-sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick,  double  for  ten  feet 
above  the  deck  and  strengthened  inside  with  angle  iron  from  deck 
to  hounds.  The  size  of  her  suit  of  sails  may  be  judged  by  the 
single  fact  that  her  lower  yards  measured  ninety  feet. 

In  the  Roach  ship-yard  every  department  connected  with  ship- 
building was  carried  on,  and  that  can  be  said  of  only  one  other 
establishment  in  the  world  (the  other  yard  is  the  "  Barrow  Ship- 
yard ") ;  here,  at  Chester,  a  whole  ship  can  be  built  from  the  raw 
materials  ;  the  rough  ore  is  melted,  rolled,  hammered,  forged  or 
made  into  angle-iron ;  the  straight  logs  are  cut,  warped  and 
pressed  into  shape ;  sails  made,  and  the  ship  rigged  and  furnished 
ready  for  sea. 

Mr.  Roach  was  naturally  a  protectionist  of  pronounced  opinions, 
and  thought  that  with  it  American  mechanics  can  all  own  their  own 
houses  if  they  prove  industrious,  prudent  and  thrifty.  He  himself 
had  taken  no  holiday  for  forty  years ;  he  gave  some  testimony 
before  the  United  States  Senate  Committee  on  Labor  and  Educa- 
tion in  1883,  in  which  he  stated  that  the  average  pay  of  his  1,540 
men  employed  in  the  Chester  yard  was  $2.19  per  day,  and  that  of 
these  287  owned  the  houses  they  lived  in.  There  were  building 
associations  among  the  men,  schools  for  the  children,  and  a  supe- 
rior military  academy.  He  did  not  think  there  were  six  persons 
in  the  almshouse  in  Chester  with  its  20,000  population.  Some  of 
his  men  are  landlords,  owning  several  houses. 

Mr.  Roach  was  not  much  troubled  with  strikes.  This  is  the 
way  he  dealt  with  one  which  occurred :  he  caused  the  strikers 
to  be  divided  into  three  classes,  according  to  their  skill  as  work- 
men and  general  worthiness  of  conduct.  Some  of  the  men,  who 
were  not  only  good  workmen  but  saving  of  material,  had  their 
wages  raised;  others,  who  did  their  work  well,  but  who  were 
observed  to  be  careless  of  material,  were  taken  back  but  not 
advanced;  the  third  class,  who  were  addicted  to  drink,  or  worked 
unsteadily,  were  entirely  rejected.  So  that  after  the  strike  he 
had  only  good  workmen  left.  He  always  acted  upon  the  principle 


JOHN    ROACH.  603 

of  listening  to  individual  complaints  from  his  employes,  but 
never  gave  audience  to  the  representatives  of  a  combination.  He 
was  a  man  who  desired  peace,  and  avoided  litigation  as  he  would 
the  plague  ;  in  the  course  of  his  long  business  career  he  never  sued 
nor  had  he  been  sued.  Although  not  willing  to  treat  with  combina- 
tions of  workmen,  he  did  not  deny  their  right  to  combine,  nor  did 
he  exclude  the  members  of  "  trades  unions  "  from  his  yard ;  in- 
deed, he  employed  them,  if  they  were  good  workmen,  without  re- 
gard to  their  social  affiliations,  but  would  only  hire  them  as  indi- 
viduals. 

Mr.  Roach  built  several  ships  for  the  United  States  navy,  which 
seemed  to  have  given  him  a  wholesome  dread  of  official  interfer- 
ence ;  and  he  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be  made  a 
penal  offence  for  any  officer  or  member  of  Congress,  or  official 
of  any  kind,  to  interfere  in  the  work  of  the  shipyard.  Mr.  Roach 
had  a  certain  respect  for  "  workmen  with  brains,"  but  very  little 
for  those  with  dull  faculties  ;  he  even  gave  the  former  a  chance  to 
make  something  beyond  days'  wages  ;  sometimes  he  would  pick 
out  five  or  six  of  his  most  intelligent  men  and  give  them  the  op- 
portunity to  take  a  job  in  the  yard  entirely  into  their  own  hands, 
he  advancing  the  capital  for  material,  etc. ;  they  often  made  a 
handsome  profit,  and  were  able  to  pay  back  what  Mr.  Roach  had 
advanced  ;  this  sort  of  stock  concern  he  encouraged. 

In  personal  appearance  this  remarkable  man  was  large  and  well 
preserved.  He  was  of  Irish  parentage,  and  his  physiognomy  was 
remarkable  for  its  strength.  Mr.  Roach  lived  at  Long  Island,  and 
when  not  at  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  was  to  be  found  in  the  office 
of  the  Morgan  Iron  Works  in  New  York.  He  was  kindly  by  na- 
ture, and  one  whose  friendship  once  secured  was  retained  perma- 
nently if  merited.  His  success  in  life  did  not  make  him  indif- 
erent  to  others,  or  unmindful  of  the  needs  of  those  who  were  de- 
serving. He  died  on  January  10,  1887. 


EX-LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR   H.  A.  W.  TABOR. 

MR.  H.  A.  W.  TABOR,  of  Denver,  Colorado,  has  made  some 
noise  in  the  world  in  various  capacities ;  first,  as  one  of  the 
bonanza  kings,  second  grade ;  next,  as  a  politician  of  a  rare  and 
peculiar  quality.  Not  a  few  of  our  millionaires  are  rather  re- 
markable for  their  plain  and  unostentatious  personal  appearance. 
Others  seek  to  avoid  all  unnecessary  publicity  as  to  their  move- 
ments, expenditures,  etc.,  but  it  is  hard  for  a  man  who  has  made 
$10,000,000  to  avoid  idiosyncrasies  of  some  kind.  Mr.  Tabor's  ex- 
travagances are  in  the  direction  of  elegant  houses.  He  has  one 
at -Denver  which  cost  him  $1,000,000.  He  also  built  there  'an 
opera-house  which  bears  his  name,  and  he  is  the  owner  of  the 
Windsor  Hotel  in  Denver.  It  is  his  intention  to  build  for  his  own 
residence  in  that  city  a  new  mansion  which  shall  eclipse  in  magnifi- 
cence every  other  on  the  continent,  throwing  the  Vanderbilt  pal- 
aces into  the  shade,  and  surpassing  the  marble  halls  of  Stewart  as 
the  trees  of  the  Yosemite  surpass  the  pines  of  the  White  Hills. 
In  fact  the  Western  people,  when  they  undertake  to  build  a  fine 
residence,  usually  take  care  to  give  it  a  good  setting  with  a  frame- 
work of  grass,  trees  and  flowers ;  a  sad  lack  on  the  part  of  New 
York  millionaires,  who  are  content  to  build  their  palaces  almost 
close  to  the  curbstones  of  the  street,  many  of  them  without  a  rod 
of  land  which  is  not  tiled  or  paved.  Mr.  Tabor's  forthcoming  won- 
der will  be  placed  in  the  middle  of  a  block  containing  thirty-two 
lots.  The  house  is  to  be  designed  with  a  view  to  the  accommoda- 
tion of  numerous  guests  and  grand  festivities.  There  will  be  im- 
mense reception  rooms  for  grand  occasions,  more  moderate-sized 
ones  for  ordinary  use,  dining-halls  of  princely  size,  and,  on  the 
principal  floor  devoted  to  guests,  the  various  apartments  will  be  so 
(604) 


EX-LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR     H.    A.    \V.    TABOR.  605 

arranged  that  they  can  be  thrown  into  one.  In  the  centre  of  the 
grand  reception  hall  there  will  be  a  large  fountain,  surrounded  by 
the  choicest  and  most  beautiful  plants,  on  which  the  light  from  a 
hundred  gas-jets  will  glimmer  and  sparkle.  A  dome  of  great 
height  will  form  the  central  elevation,  finished  in  fresco  to  repre- 
sent the  sky;  the  walls  will  be  colored  in  soft  and  delicate  tints,- 
while  within  ample  niches,  formed  for  their  reception,  will  stand 
full-length  marble  statues  representing  mythological  and  classic 
forms ;  interspersed  with  these  will  be  paintings — not  canvas  affairs 
which  can  be  bought  and  sold  every  day  in  the  week,  but  exe- 
cuted in  imperial  style  on  the  walls  of  the  reception-rooms,  ban- 
queting halls  and  ample  corridors,  whence  they  can  never  be 
transferred  to  less  appreciative  owners.  The  best  artists  that  can 
be  procured  will  be  employed  on  these  internal  decorations.  But 
probably  no  feature  of  this  Denver  palace  will  be  of  more  intrinsic 
interest  than  the  floor,  which  will  be  one  grand  mosaic,  composed 
of  all  the  various  and  beautiful  minerals  of  Colorado,  arranged  in 
elegant  artistic  designs. 

One  notable  feature  of  this  every  way  remarkable  house  will  be 
•a  high  tower,  from  which  most  extensive  views  may  be  obtained, 
and  which  will  be  so  solidly  founded  that  it  will  be  available  in  the 
future  for  astronomical  observations.  One  peculiar  feature  in  the 
lighting  arrangements  for  the  festival  halls  is  the  fixture  of  glass 
prisms,  so  placed  that  light  of  different  colors,  blue,  red,  orange, 
etc.,  can  be  thrown  at  will  over  the  whole  room.  There  will  be 
thirty  rooms  in  all — most  of  the  chambers  en  suite,  and  every 
arrangement  for  amusement  provided — billiard-room,  bowling 
alley,  and  even  a  tennis  court  for  lawn  tennis,  when  the  weather 
does  not  permit  out-door  exercise.  'The  grounds  surrounding  the 
house  will  be  laid  out  in  a  style  to  correspond  with  all  this  interior 
magnificence,  and  the  stables  will  also  be  on  the  amplest  scale, 
with  every  known  modern  improvement,  with  a  most  princely  pro- 
vision of  carriages,  saddles,  and  horses  to  please  the  tastes  of 
guests. 


606          .  EX-LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR     H.    A.    W.    TABOR. 

It  has  been  recently  announced  on  good  authority,  that  Mr. 
Tabor  is  about  taking  measures  to  found  an  extensive  public 
library  in  Denver,  to  cost  some  $200,000,  to  be  liberally  endowed, 
and  to  start  with  a  collection  of  1 00,000  volumes. 

Since  Mr.  Tabor  acquired  his  large  wealth,  he  has  been  suc- 
cessful in  politics  to  the  extent  of  being  elected  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor  of  the  State  of  Colorado,  and  United  States  Senator  for 
thirty  days,  filling  the  unexpired  term  of  Senator  Teller.  When 
in  Washington  Mr.  Tabor  disbursed  his  money  in  lavish  style,  and 
many  tradesmen  and  caterers  must  have  heartily  wished  that  he 
had  been  chosen  for  a  six-year  term,  rather  than  for  the  poor 
thirty  days  of  an  unexpired  term.  At  the  present  time  he  is  living 
with  his  second  wife  in  Denver,  he  having  been  married  to  her 
while  residing  at  Washington. 


A.  T.  STEWART. 


ALEXANDER   TURNEY   STEWART. 

AMONG  the  many  merchant  princes  whose  names  are  engraved 
in  gold  in  the  commercial  history  of  the  great  metropolis  of  New 
York,  none  of  them  ever  exercised  during  his  lifetime  so  vast  an 
influence  as  Alexander  Turney  Stewart.  Nor  was  that  influence 
limited  to  New  York.  He  wielded  a  commercial  empire,  which 
penetrated  the  whole  country  and  affected  largely  the  markets  of 
other  nations.  His  agencies  in  the  commercial  centres  of  the 
world  resembled  some  secret  system  of  international  police,  his 
buyers  being  found  at  every  mart,  and  being  foremost  in  every 
bargain.  He  had  branch  establishments  not  only  in  Philadelphia 
and  Boston,  but  in  Manchester,  Nottingham,  and  Bradford,  Eng- 
land, at  Paris  and  Lyons  in  France,  in  Belfast,  Glasgow,  Berlin  and 
Chemnitz.  Ships  freighted  with  his  goods  were  forever  crossing 
the  Atlantic,  and  bringing  to  America  the  produce  of  European 
factories,  as  silks,  satins,  cloths  and  velvets,  carpets,  calicoes,  mus- 
lins, and  the  like.  The  looms  of  Belfast,  where  he  was  born  in 
1802,  were  kept  busy  by  its  fortunate  son.  Lyons  sent  him  her 
choicest  silks,  Belgium  her  richest  laces,  Russia  her  finest  sables. 
Even  in  Persia,  he  had  a  body  of  men  organized  under  a  superin- 
tendent, for  the  hunting  of  the  Astrachan  goat,  and  the  skins  of 
the  young  kids  were  worn  unconsciously  by  the  fine  ladies  of  New 
York.  He  was  the  largest  importer  that  not  only  the  United 
States  but  the  world  has  ever  seen.  His  custom-house  duties 
averaged  for  many  years  $30,000  gold  a  day.  His  income  was 
for  years  the  largest  which  mortal  man  ever  derived  from  trade  in 
any  portion  of  the  globe.  He  owned  more  real  estate  in  America 
than  any  other  person  has  ever  owned,  with  the  sole  exception  of 
William  B.  Astor.  What  his  personal  income  was  cannot  be  esti- 

(607) 


6o8  ALEXANDER     TURNEY     STEWART. 

mated  precisely,  as  he  was  always  reserved  upon  his  own  affairs, 
but  he  was  certainly  worth  not  less  than  $50,000,000  when  he  died. 
In  1870  it  was  estimated  that  his  great  store  at  the  corner  of 
Tenth  street  and  Broadway  alone  took  in  daily  an  average  of 
$60,000,  and  on  some  days  its  cash  receipts  had  reached  nearly 
$90,006.  In  this  chief  store,  the  method  which  had  so  large  a 
share  in  the  making  of  Mr.  Stewart's  fortune  was  exhibited  with 
the  precision  of  machinery. 

During  the  busy  season  30,000  persons  would  sometimes  visit 
the  store  in  a  day;  and  the  average  was  20,000.  These  were 
composed  of  all  classes,  for  while  the  very  wealthy  could  spend 
their  thousands  in  a  single  visit,  as  they  sometimes  did,  the  poorer 
classes  found  their  advantage  in  buying  directly  of  Stewart,  instead 
of  the  smaller  stores  that  bought  of  him.  Many  a  thrifty  house- 
wife has  bought  at  Stewart's  her  piece  of  cloth  at  almost  wholesale 
prices,  and  transformed  it  with  her  own  sewing  machine  into  suits 
of  clothes  for  her  boys. 

In  the  service  of  this  up-town  store  about  2,200  persons  were 
employed.  The  one  general  superintendent  had  nineteen  assist- 
ants, each  of  whom  was  at  the  head  of  a  department.  Nine  cash- 
iers received  and  paid  out  money ;  twenty-five  book-keepers  kept 
the  record  of  the  day ;  thirty  ushers  directed  purchasers  to  the 
department  they  were  seeking ;  two  hundred  cash-boys  received 
the  money  and  brought  back  the  change  of  purchasers;  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy  clerks,  some  of  whom  were  women,  made  the 
sales  of  the  day  ;  fifty  porters  did  the  heavy  work,  and  nine  hun- 
dred seamstresses  were  employed  in  the  manufacturing  depart- 
ment. Beside  these  there  were  some  five  hundred  other  persons 
employed  about  this  immense  store  in  various  capacities.  The 
same  exact  system  which  regulated  the  business  done  controlled 
the  employes  through  whom  it  was  done.  Dishonesty  was  pun- 
ished by  instant  dismissal ;  integrity  and  ability  were  rewarded  by 
a  sure  sequence  of  promotions.  The  boy  who  began  with  five 
dollars  a  week  might,  by  quickness,  industry,  and  good  manners, 


ALEXANDER  TURNEY  STEWART.  609 

soon  rise  to  be  the  clerk  at  twenty-five,  and  the  latter  by  the  same 
line  of  conduct  could  in  a  few  years  rise  to  be  a  confidential  agent 
of  the  house  with  a  competence  of  his  own. 

But  as  both  the  house  of  Stewart  and  the  founder  of  it  have 
now  ceased  to  be,  it  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  details  of  the 
business,  and  the  interior  discipline  of  its  several  departments.  It 
will  be  more  profitable  to  trace  the  gradual  steps  by  which  so 
colossal  an  establishment  as  Stewart's  came  into  existence,  and  the 
qualities  and  method  of  the  remarkable  man,  who  was  the  sole 
architect  of  the  greatest  business  fortune  of  modern  or  ancient 
times.  There  have  been  a  few  individuals,  perhaps,  as  rich  as  Mr. 
Stewart,  but  they  have  owed  their  wealth  to  hereditary  or  political 
causes,  or  to  strokes  of  luck  in  mines  and  other  gambling  specula- 
tions. Every  penny  that  the  late  A.  T.  Stewart  ever  made  was 
made  in  trade,  and  trade  whose  legitimacy  and  honesty  have  never 
been  questioned. 

Mr.  Stewart  himself  was  a  believer  in  luck,  and  was  almost  su- 
perstitious on  the  subject:  so  much  so  that  it  is  narrated  of  him 
that  when  he  moved  his  store  from  between  Murray  and  Warren 
streets,  Broadway,  to  Chamber  street,  he  carried  with  his  own 
hands  the  box  of  the  old  apple  woman  who  had  for  years  sat  out- 
side his  place.  She  was  a  sort  of  genus  loci  to  Mr.  Stewart's 
mind ;  a  fairy  godmother  of  stout  Hibernian  build,  who  smoked  a 
short  clay  pipe,  the  nauseous  fumes  of  which  seemed  to  his  imag- 
ination to  be  so  many  favoring  puffs  of  wind  speeding  his  com- 
mercial craft.  Most  men  would  have  left  the  Irish  apple  woman 
behind,  and  have  been  not  sorry  to  get  rid  of  her.  But  what  the 
lamp-post  was  to  Dr.  Johnson  this  apple-stand  was  to  Mr.  Stewart. 
It  was  a  land-mark  and  an  ever  present  memory.  So  the  aston- 
ished and  delighted  vendor  of  apples,  oranges,  and  peanuts  be- 
held the  great  merchant  shoulder  her  box — an  inverted  empty 
orange  box — and  enthrone  her  at  the  entrance  of  his  new  estab- 
lishment. He  regarded  the  old  crone  as  his  guardian  angel,  with- 
out whose  wrinkles  fortune  would  not  smile  upon  him.  A  further 
39 


6lO  ALEXANDER     TURNEY     STEWART. 

illustration  of  Mr.  Stewart's  faith  in  luck  was  a  remark  made  by 
him  on  the  completion  of  the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel,  New  York,  when 
standing  in  the  reception-room,  just  as  the  hotel  was  about  to  be 
opened  to  guests,  he  said:  "The  St.  Nicholases  at  last  finished ;  I 
hope  its  first  visitors  will  be  lucky  people."  A  gentleman  who  was 
present,  and  who  had  heard  the  previous  story  of  Mr.  Stewart  and 
the  apple-seller,  remarked:  "I  presume,  sir,  that  you  do  not  in  real- 
ity believe  in  lucky  or  unlucky  persons."  "Indeed  I  do,"  was  the  im- 
mediate reply.  "  I  have  known  persons  who  always  bring  in  luck. 
I  sometimes  open  a  case  of  goods  and  sell  the  first  from  it  to  some 
person  who  is  unlucky,  and  I  am  sure  to  lose  on  it  in  the  end.  I 
frequently  see  persons  to  whom  I  would  not  sell  at  all  if  I  could 
avoid  it." 

That,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  some  persons  are  always  fortunate 
and  others  unfortunate  in  their  adventures  and  experiences  can- 
not be  denied.  Nor  can  it  be  questioned  that  sudden  pieces  of 
good  fortune  fall  to  some  and  not  to  others.  But  when  regular 
events  for  an  extended  time  are  considered,  it  will  be  found  that 
what  is  called  luck  is  in  fact  prudent  conduct,  and  bad  luck  the 
contrary.  Mr.  Stewart,  it  is  said,  always  considered  himself  a 
lucky  rather  than  a  particularly  able  man,  but  his  whole  career 
refutes  such  an  opinion.  No  man  was  ever  more  careful  to  count 
the  cost  of  what  he  was  about  to  do,  and  to  look  before  he  leaped. 
In  fact,  he  never  leaped,  but  did  everything  with  the  regularity  of 
a  time-piece.  Had  he  lain  in  bed  and  waited  for  his  good  fortune, 
he  would  have  been  like  the  man  whom  Horace  describes,  who 
waited  on  the  bank  until  the  river  should  flow  by.  But  from  his 
boyhead  to  his  death,  energy,  directed  by  prudence  and  sustained 
by  courage,  was  the  system  of  his  life.  His  luck  was  not  a  purse 
picked  up  by  accident,  but  a  purse  bought  by  careful  industry  and 
filled  by  foresight  and  perseverance.  In  all  such  cases  of  com- 
mercial success,  the  chief  difficulties  are  at  the  start.  As  John 
Jacob  Astor  used  to  say,  "  I  found  it  hard  to  make  the  first  dollar, 
but  had  no  trouble  after  that."  A  wrong  start  can  never  win  the 


ALEXANDER  TURNEY  STEWART.  £ll 

race.  There  is  some  luck,  of  course,  in  starting  right,  for,  of  the 
many  roads  that  lie  before  a  youth  when  he  begins  his  business 
life,  it  is  not  easy  for  him  to  know  which  is  the  best  one.  Many 
mistake  their  own  talents  and  calling.  But  what  he  does  know  is, 
that  industry,  intelligence,  and  integrity  never  fail  to  win  in  the 
long  run,  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  idle  is  to  be  poor,  to 
be  dissipated  is  to  sink  down  lower  and  lower,  to  hesitate  is  often 
to  be  lost,  to  procrastinate  is  often  to  lose  one's  opportunity  alto- 
gether; for,  as  the  Spanish  proverb  says,  "The  lane  called  by-and- 
by  leads  to  the  house  of  never." 

In  the  career  of  A.  T.  Stewart  we  find  at  the  outset  an  exhibition 
of  those  qualities  which  were  conspicuous  throughout  his  fifty 
years  of  unexampled  success.  It  was  from  Belfast,  Ireland,  his 
birthplace,  that  Alexander  Turney  Stewart  came  to  America,  and 
after  a  tedious  and  stormy  passage,  landed  in  New  York  in  the 
year  1818.  He  was  then  but  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  had  studied 
two  terms  at  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  His  father  dying  when  he 
was  only  three  years  old,  his  grandfather  took  charge  of  him,  and 
designed  him  for  the  Protestant  Episcopal  ministry,  of  what  was 
then  "  the  united  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,"  but  the  Irish 
section  of  which  was  disestablished  and  disconnected  from  the 
state  by  Mr.  Gladstone  in  1869.  These  plans,  however,  which 
suited  well  the  lad's  own  turn  of  mind,  who  had  a  taste  for  classical 
and  clerical  learning,  were  suddenly  dissolved  by  the  death  of  his 
grandfather.  With  some  ready  money  and  a  few  letters  of  intro- 
duction, he  landed  in  New  York,  and  became  assistant-usher  in 
a  commercial  school,  a  position  he  soon  resigned  for  a  better  one 
in  a  higher  kind  of  academy,  with  a  stipend  of  $300  a  year,  equal, 
certainly,  to  four  times  that  amount  at  the  present  time.  His 
native  ambition,  however,  aspired  to  a  more  comfortable  position 
than  that  of  school-teacher,  and  he  opened  a  small  retail  dry-goods 
store,  where  he  remained  until  the  age  of  twenty-one,  when  he 
returned  to  Ireland  to  receive  a  legacy  of  nearly  £1,000  left  him 
by  his  grandfather.  The  greater  part  of  this  sum  he  invested  in 


(512  ALEXANDER    TURKEY     STEWART. 

"  insertions  "  and  "  scallop-trimmings,"  which  he  shipped  to  New 
York  by  the  same  vessel  in  which  he  himself  returned.  With  this 
stock  in  trade  and  a  hundred  dollars  or  so  in  cash,  he  rented  a 
new  store  at  283  Broadway,  and  at  once  found  a  ready  sale  for 
his  imported  stock  at  a  fair  profit. 

It  is  clear  that  he  started  on  the  right  track,  and  that  he  had  now 
no  more  to  do  than  to  exercise  the  prudence  and  business  capacity 
he  possessed  in  increasing  his  store  and  enlarging  his  business 
connections.  He  was  his  own  buyer,  salesman,  bookkeeper,  and 
porter  in  these  early  days.  He  watched  the  New  York  auctions 
and  purchased  for  cash.  In  his  wife  he  found  his  only  but  efficient 
help.  By  buying  and  selling  for  cash,  he  had  .prospered  sufficiently 
within  three  years  to  remove  from  his  little  store  to  a  larger  one 
at  262  Broadway,  and  at  the  end  of  another  three  years  to  No. 
257.  Here  he  remained  for  seventeen  years,  steadily  increasing 
his  business  and  his  capital.  In  1846- he  purchased  a  city  lot  at 
Broadway  and  Chambers  street,  and  began  to  erect  the  building 
afterward  known  as  "  Stewart's  down-town  store."  "  The  up-town 
store,"  occupying  the  entire  block  bounded  by  Broadway,  Ninth 
and  Tenth  streets,  and  Fourth  avenue,  to  which  we  have  already 
referred,  was  next  erected,  and  became  the  retail  department  of 
Mr.  Stewart's  immense  business. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  in  1861,  Mr.  Stewart  contrib- 
uted largely  and  generously  to  the  Union  cause.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Union  Defence  Committee,  and  in  1866  was  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Saratoga  address,  calling  on  the  people  of  the 
country  to  sustain  the  policy  of  President  Johnson.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  to  advocate  the  election  of  General  Grant  as  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  Presidency,  and  was  a  candidate  for  Presidential 
Elector  on  the  Republican  ticket  for  the  State  of  New  York,  but 
was  defeated  by  the  Democrats.  It  was  during  the  period  of  the 
war  that  Mr.  Stewart  chartered  a  vessel  with  provisions  for  the 
•starving  poor  of  Ireland,  and  directions  to  bring  back  as  many  im- 
migrants as  she  could  carry  free  of  charge.  .  One  hundred  and 


ALEXANDER     TURNEY     STEWART.  613 

thirty-nine  persons  came  over,  and  were  at  once  provided  with 
employment  by  Mr.  Stewart.  With  the  same  prevision  which  led 
so  many  of  the  Southern  planters  to  liberate  their  slaves  at  the 
outset  of  the  war,  Mr.  Stewart  made  contracts  with  all  the  manu- 
facturers in  the  country  for  an  extended  term.  His  keen  eye  fore- 
saw the  coming  struggle  long  before  it  came.  Accordingly,  when 
it  did  come,  he  was  financially  as  well  as  loyally  prepared  for  it. 
If  the  loss  of  his  Southern  trade  was  great,  his  profits  from  the 
monopoly  of  army  clothing,  blankets,  etc.,  were  far  greater.  Yet 
toward  the  Government  of  the  United  States  he  was  always 
remarkably  liberal  in  his  business  dealings. 

Mr.  Stewart,  as  well  from  motives  of  private  friendship  as  from 
a  public  sense  of  what  the  General  of  the  Army  had  done  for  the 
nation,  was  a  zealous  advocate  and  firm  adherent  of  President 
Grant.  The  President  knew  this,  and  he  knew  also  the  tremen- 
dous influence  of  Mr.  Stewart  upon  the  financial  interests  of  the 
country.  He  argued,  and  with  reason,  that  the  same  great  finan- 
cial talents,  prudence,  and  sound  judgment,  which  had  made  A.  T. 
Stewart  the  richest  merchant  of  his  time,'  would  make  him  an  able 
and  successful  administrator  of  the  finances  of  the  country.  Presi- 
dent Grant,  therefore,  offered  him  the  post  of  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  on  the  5th  of  March,  1869,  and  the  nomination  was  at 
once  unanimously  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  The  country  generally 
seemed  well  satisfied  with  the  appointment,  and  Mr.  Stewart  was 
about  to  enter  upon  his  new  duties,  when  it  was  discovered  that  a 
merchant  in  active  business  was  legally  disqualified  from  taking 
charge  of  the  Treasury.  To  obviate  this  objection,  Mr.  Stewart 
offered  to  donate  the  proceeds  of  his  business  during  his  term  of 
office  to  the  poor  of  New  York,  but  objection  being  still  made  to 
him  by  adverse  politicians,  he  sent  in  his  withdrawal,  which  .the 
President  reluctantly  accepted.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  his 
services  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  would  have  been  greatly 
beneficial  to  the  finances  of  the  country. 

The  personal  habits  of  Mr.  Stewart,  like  those  of  George  Pea- 


614  ALEXANDER     TURNEV     STEWART. 

body,  and  many  other  representative  men  who  have  attained  vast 
wealth,  were  simple  and  free  from  ostentation.  Those  who  have 
means  sufficient  to  buy  everything,  care  far  less  for  superfluities 
than  those  who  have  to  count  each  dollar  as  it  comes  and  goes. 
Hence,  it  is  said  of  A.  T.  Stewart,  that  he  dressed  plainly  and 
well  in  the  fashion  of  the  time,  but  that  he  discarded  all  such  orna- 
ments as  diamond  pins,  watch-chains,  and  fancy  finger-rings. 

In  his  daily  habits  he  was  equally  abstemious,  punctual  and  prac- 
tical. He  rose  early,  and  would  be  at  his  up-town  store  at  nine  or 
shortly  after.  After  noting  everything  and  seeing  that  the  busi- 
ness of  the  day  was  revolving  regularly,  he  went  to  his  down-town 
store,  directed  and  observed  his  business,  and  remained  there 
during  business  hours,  when  he  would  return  to  his  up-town  store 
and  go  home  to  dinner.  His  most  intimate  companion  for  thirty- 
years,  especially  at  the  dinner-table,  was  Judge  Henry  Hilton, 
whom  he  appointed  his  executor,  and  who  carried  on  the  business 
until  April,  1882,  when  it  was  closed.  Mr.  Stewart  must  be  judged 
by  his  many  munificent  enterprises  for  the  alleviation  of  suffering 
and  poverty,  which  were  none  the  less  magnanimous  in  their 
design  because  some  of  them  failed  in  execution.  Nor  need  it  be 
denied  that  Mr.  Stewart's  judgment  was  on  rare  occasions  at  fault, 
as  when  he  invested  heavily  in  Bleecker  street,  believing  at  the 
time  that  there  would  be  the  limit,  and  the  centre  of  the  up-town 
business  of  New  York.  Had  Mr.  Stewart  lived  longer,  he  would 
no  doubt  have  moved  his  retail  business  from  ten  to  twenty  blocks 
higher  than  he  did.  But  who  could  foresee  the  effects  of  rapid 
transit  in  advance  of  the  event  ?  He  was  always  a  zealous  oppo- 
nent of  a  Broadway  railroad,  holding  that  the  finest  street  in  New 
York  would  be  spoiled  by  it.  The  part  of  Broadway,  however,  on 
which  there  is  now  a  railroad,  is  occupied  by  some  of  the  finest 
stores  in  the  country,  in  the  same  line  of  business  as  Mr.  Stewart's. 
In  this  unlooked-for  competition  by  smaller  but  still  formidable 
competitors  for  public  favor,  we  have  undoubtedly  the  true  in- 
wardness of  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  both  Judge  Hilton  and 


ALEXANDER     TURNEY     STEWART.  615 

Mr.  Libbey,  his  partner,  to  close  up  their  business.  Indeed,  it  had 
never  been  the  same  since  the  master  business-mind  that  origin- 
ated it  was  taken  away  by  death  on  April  10,  1876. 

It.  is  hardly  possible  for  both  writer  and  reader  not  to  pause  at 
this  event  and  connect  the  loth  of  April,  1876,  with  the  night  of 
Wednesday,  the  6th  of  November,  1878,  when  the  body  of  Alex- 
ander Turney  Stewart  was  stolen  from  the  Stewart  vault  in  St. 
Mark's  churchyard.  "St.  Mark's  Church"  is  an  old  historic  land- 
mark of  New  York,  and  it  was  from  die  old  churchyard  of  this 
church,  which  Mr.  Stewart  had  for  many  years  attended,  that  his 
remains  were  stolen.  The  assistant-sexton,  Francis  Parker,  was 
the  first  to  make  the  discovery,  and  for  days  the  newspapers  of 
New  York  and  every  city  in  the  Union  were  filled  with  horror, 
conjecture  and  dismay.  The  mausoleum  erected  for  its  reception 
at  the  Cathedral  of  the  Incarnation  in  Garden  City,  Long  Island, 
is  the  most  beautiful  and  costly  work  of  the  kind  ever  produced 
in  this  country.  The  cathedral,  magnificent  as  it  is,  with  its 
stained-glass  windows  and  marble  floor  and  pillars,  and  above  all 
in  the  unequalled  symmetry  of  its  spire,  which  seen  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  on  a  summer  morning  or  evening,  forms  a  per- 
spective to  which  no  other  spire  in  the  whole  country  can  compare, 
will  be  as  the  temple  without  the  ark  of  the  tabernacle  within  it, 
if  the  body  of  the  founder  is  never  laid  there. 

Garden  City  is  destined  to  become  very  beautiful  when  the  vari- 
ous school  edifices  and  residences  are  completed,  and  the  land- 
scape improvements  are  made. 

It  was  only  by  a  few  dollars  that  Mr.  Stewart  outbid  Judge  Hil- 
ton, now  his  representative,  in  the  purchase  of  these  Hempstead 
Plains.  Mr.  Hilton  had  made  a  liberal  offer,  but  a  company  raised 
it  to  forty-five  dollars  an  acre.  Mr.  Stewart  outbid  the  company  by 
ten  dollars  an  acre,  and  when  the  deed  was  drawn  gave  his  cheque 
for  $394,350.  The  plains  originally  comprised  sixty  thousand 
acres,  but  only  seven  thousand  acres  remained  the  property  of  the 
town  of  Hempstead  when  Mr.  Stewart  purchased  the  land  which 


6l6  ALEXANDER     TURNEY     STEWART. 

is  now  Garden  City.  Twenty-five  hundred  acres  were  at  first  de- 
voted to  agriculture,  and  called  "  the  farm,"  to  which  two  hundred 
acres  were  added  later. 

The  Hempstead  assessment  rolls  show  that  the  A.  T.  Stewart 
estate,  of  which  Garden  City  is  the  centre,  is  assessed  for  $231,000. 
The  value  of  the  property  is  now  over  half  a  million  of  dollars. 
Strangely  enough,  he  did  not,  in  his  will,  specify  the  denominations 
to  which  the  memorial  church  at  Garden  City  was  to  belong,  and 
his  executor,  Mr.  Hilton,  made  arrangements  and  commenced 
operations  for  building  a  church  in  the  interests  of  Congregation- 
alism, of  which  the  Rev.  George  H.  Hepworth  was  to  be  the  pas- 
tor. Dr.  Littlejohn,  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
denomination  in  Long  Island,  knowing  that  Mr.  Stewart  had  been 
all  his  life  an  Episcopalian,  felt  not  unnaturally  aggrieved,  and 
represented  the  claims  of  his  diocese  to  Mrs.  Stewart.  The  result 
was  that  the  land  and  funds  for  the  ecclesiastical  arrangements  of 
Garden  City  were  transferred  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Diocese 
of  Long  Island,  and  while  the  cathedral,  which,  though  small,  is 
large  enough  for  the  fullest  Anglican  ritual,  is  now  completed,  and 
also  St.  Paul's  school  for  boys,  and  St.  Mary's  for  girls,  at  a  cost 
for  the  former  of  two  millions,  and  of  the  latter  one  million  dollars, 
the  bishop's  residence  is  yet  to  be  completed.  The  government 
assigned  an  army  officer  to  be  master  of  military  science  and  tac- 
tics in  St.  Paul's,  and  apportioned  for  the  use  of  the  military  de- 
partment 150  guns,  two  pieces  of  ordnance,  and  the  necessary 
accoutrements.  Every  provision  has  been  made  for  the  support 
of  the  ecclesiastical  and  scholastic  staff,  the  clergy,  the  teachers, 
and  the  choir,  necessary  for  the  cathedral  and  the  schools,  and 
Judge  Hilton  has  caused  to  be  added  a  fine  school  library,  maps 
and  charts,  and  the  vestments  for  the  cathedral. 

The  idea  of  founding  a  public  school  for  the  higher  education  of 
boys,  especially  with  a  view  to  professional  life,  is  one  that  has 
been  long  cherished  by  wealthy  Episcopalians.  The  clergy  of 
Trinity  parish,  New  York,  labored  for  years  to  make  Trinity 


ALEXANDER  TURKEY  STEWART.  6lJ 

school  a  miniature  copy  of  Rugby  or  Harrow.  They  even  secured 
a  Fellow  of  Oriel  Cojlege,  Oxford,  of  fine  clerical  attainments,  as 
Head  Master.  But  the  necessary  endowment  could  not  be 
diverted  from  parochial  funds,  large  as  they  are,  and  New  York  is 
not  the  place  for  such  a  school,  which  requires  ample  room  for 
sports  and  recreation  under  the  eye  of  the  masters.  Garden  City 
has  all  these  advantages,  and  there  is  no  reason,  if  the  secular 
teaching  makes  a  national  reputation  for  its  excellence,  why  the 
children,  not  only  of  Episcopalians  but  of  all  denominations,  should 
not  assemble  at  this  centre  for  the- highest  training  preliminary  to 
that  of  the  Universities.  Hitherto  hundreds  of  the  wealthier  fami- 
lies in  America  have  sent  their  sons  and  daughters  to  Europe  for 
education,  but  if  they  find  that  at  Garden  City  they  can  reap  the 
same  advantages,  with  those  recent  improvements,  jointly  and 
scientific,  which  Europe  has  not  yet  adopted,  it  is  very  likely  that 
they  will  prefer  to  give  their  children  European  culture  on  Ameri- 
can soil.  And  should  this  be  the  result  of  Mr.  Stewart's  great 
philanthropic  scheme,  his  name  will  be  handed  down  to  remotest 
posterity  by  the  thousands  who  will  receive  instruction  in  St. 
John's  and  St.  Mary's. 


GEORGE  W.  RIGGS. 

MR.  GEORGE  W.  RIGGS,  the  well-known  banker  of  Washington, 
D.  C.,  was  born  in  the  neighboring  city  of  Georgetown,  in  1813. 
His  father  was  Mr.  Elisha  Riggs,  who  was  for  many  years  a  part- 
ner of  George  Peabody  in  the  dry-goods  business,  in  Baltimore ; 
his  son,  George,  was  bred  to  finance,  and  was  early  inducted  into 
one  of  the  best  schools  possible  for  acquiring  a  thorough  practical 
knowledge  of  such  matters,  entering  the  banking-house  of  W.  W. 
Corcoran,  in  Washington,  of  which  he  became,  soon  after  attain- 
ing his  majority,  a  partner.  Under  the  name  of  Corcoran  &  Riggs 
this  firm  first  attained  to  national  fame  during  the  war  of  the 
United  States  with  Mexico.  A  loan  was  called  for  by  the  govern- 
ment of  $5,000,000 — what  would  now  seem  an  insignificant  sum, 
and  which  even  then  there  were  many  banking-firms  that  could 
have  easily  taken  it  up ;  but  the  war  was  very  unpopular  with  the 
more  conservative  part  of  the  community,  and  this  portion  of  the 
people  usually  includes  the  large  capitalists ;  it  was  also  opposed 
by  the  Whig  party,  and  there  actually  appeared  some  danger  that 
the  credit  of  the  United  States  would  suffer  through  this  political 
hostility  to  the  policy  of  the  administration  (under  President  James 
K.  Polk).  At  this  juncture  the  then  almost  unknown  house  of 
Corcoran  &  Riggs  came  to  the  rescue,  and  took  up  the  whole  loan. 
A  second  call  was  issued  for  a  similar  sum,  which  was  taken  by  the 
senior  member  of  the  firm  on  his  individual  security,  Mr.  Riggs 
declining  to  invest  more  in  that  direction.  These  transactions 
proved  very  profitable,  both  directly  by  the  large  commissions 
received,  and  indirectly  by  bringing  the  firm  into  greater  publicity. 

Mr.  Corcoran  retired  from  business  many  years  ago,  but  under 
the  management  of  Mrr  Riggs;  who,  in  addition  to  the  banking 
(618) 


GEORGE     W.    RIGGS.  619 

business,  entered  largely  into  the  purchase  of  real  estate,  and 
bought  much  of  that  originally  owned  by  the  government  in 
Washington  and  other  parts  of  the  District  of  Columbia  at  a 
merely  nominal  price. 

Mr.  Riggs  was  not  so  much  absorbed  in  business  as  to  neglect 
his  duties  as  a  citizen.  He  took  a  great  interest  in  the  manage- 
ment of  affairs  in  the  district,  and  in  1873,  being  dissatisfied  with 
the  way  in  which  the  finances  of  the  city  were  conducted  by  the 
Board  of  Public  Works,  he  acted  as  Chairman  of  the  "  Committee 
of  Memorialists,"  who  presented  a  petition  to  Congress  for  an  in- 
vestigation to  be  instituted  to  examine  its  accounts  and  modes  of 
procedure.  This  petition  was  effective  ;  an  investigation  was  or- 
dered and  resulted  in  a  most  radical  change.  Up  to  this  time  the 
government  of  the  district  had  been  territorial  in  its  character,  and 
under  it  the  abuses  complained  of  had  arisen.  Mr.  Riggs  had  a 
hearing  before  the  committee,  and  from  his  standing  in  society  and 
intelligence  in  business  matters  hjs  testimony  carried  great  weight 
with  it:  the  result  was,  that  the  committee  reported  in  favor  of 
abolishing  the  territorial  government,  which  was  done,  and  a  new 
system  inaugurated  making  Congress  itself  the  ultimate  source  of 
all  authority  in  the  district. 

Mr.  Riggs  was  a  man  of  literary  and  artistic  tastes ;  he  was  a 
collector  of  rare  and  valuable  books,  and  it  was  a  real  treat  to  be 
allowed  the  entree  into  his  library.  He  had  also  a  taste  for  fine 
fire-arms  and  armor,  and  his  mansion  would  probably  have  been 
enriched  with  a  most  choice  and  valuable  collection  of  these,  made 
by  one  of  his  brothers,  a  resident  of  Paris,  who  is  known  as  the 
possessor  of  an  extraordinary  variety  of  arms  and  armor,  some 
of  them  of  exceeding  beauty  and  of  unique  workmanship,  pro- 
cured at  great  cost,  and  which  would  have  been  worthy  of  a  place 
in  any  national  museum ;  but  they  have  been  retained  in  Europe 
because  the  Messrs.  Riggs  will  not  suffer  what  they  consider  the 
imposition  of  paying  an  absurdly  exorbitant  tariff  upon  these 
objects,  most  of  which  might  truly  be  rated  as  "works 'of  art." 


620  GEORGE     W.    RIGGS. 

Mr.  Riggs  married  a  Maryland  lady,  who  survives  him,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death  left  five  children.  He  died  at  his  country 
residence,  Glen  Hill,  near  Washington,  on  the  gth  of  August,  1881, 
after  an  illness  of  some  weeks,  brought  on  by  chronic  dyspepsia. 
He  had  been  in  business  nearly  forty  years,  and  after  Mr.  Cor- 
coran's  retirement  was  the  leading  banker  in  the  city :  he  did 
nearly  all  the  banking  business  for  the  several  foreign  legations 
established  in  Washington. 

Mr.  Riggs'  personal  estate  in  Washington  was  only  estimated  at 
$300,000,  while  the  real  approximated  $6,000,000.  The  will,  for  a 
man  of  such  large  estate,  was  somewhat  peculiar ;  the  whole  prop- 
erty of  every  kind,  of  which  he  died  possessed,  being  left  to  his 
wife,  she  being  also  appointed  one  of  the  executors ;  the  will  was 
very  carefully  written,  everything  being  elaborately  described  with 
an  abundance  of  technical  phrases,  so  that  no  misunderstanding 
should  arise ;  the  only  restriction  put  upon  the  absolute  disposal 
of  the  whole  of  this  large  property  by  the  widow,  in  life  or  by  will, 
is,  that  if  employed  for  the  advancement  or  establishment  of  the 
children,  "such  advancement"  for  any  one  child  shall  "in  no  case 
exceed  the  probable  value  of  an  equal  share  of  the  estate,  which 
would  have  belonged  to  the  child,  if  the  estate,  at  the  wife's  death, 
had  been  divided  at  the  time  such  advancement  was  made."  No 
public  or  charitable  donations  or  bequests  appear  to  have  been 
made  by  the  decedent. 


JOSEPH    EARLE    SHEFFIELD. 

JOSEPH  EARLE  SHEFFIELD,  one  of  the  noble  names  of  New  Eng- 
land, forever  identified  with  Yale  College  and  the  city  of  New 
Haven  by  his  munificent  gifts,  was  born  in  the  last  century  in 
Southport,  Connecticut  (June  19,  1793),  but  his  good  and  useful 
life  stretched  far  into  the  present,  reaching  nearly  to  the  age  of 
ninety ;  he  was  equally  the  cotemporary  of  Washington  and  Gar- 
field,  and  consequently  combined  in  his  experience  all  the  vast 
increase  of  the  country  from  the  original  thirteen  States  to  its 
present  magnitude — the  introduction  of  steam  with  all  the  succes- 
sive scientific  inventions  familiar  to  this  generation,  but  which  were 
wondrous  novelties  in  his  early  days.  His  father  and  earlier  an- 
cestors were  in  good  circumstances,  being  large  ship-owners  when 
sailing  craft  alone  "  ploughed  the  deep,"  and  not  a  little  of  the 
wealth  acquired  by  them  was  derived  during  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution by  the  privateers  fitted  out  by  them  for  the  capture  of 
British  merchantmen.  On  his  mother's  side  he  was  also  descended 
from  a  race  of  seamen  and  merchants,  his  mother  being  the  daughter 
of  Captain  Walter  Thorpe,  long  engaged  in  the  West  India  trade ; 
thus  it  is  not  surprising  that  young  Sheffield's  inclination  early 
led  him  to  the  choice  of  a  mercantile  life. 

After  receiving  a  common  school  education,  before  he  was  fif- 
teen years  of  age,  in  1808,  he  entered  on  that  long  business 
career  which  only  terminated  a  little  over  a  year  ago.  His  first 
essay  was  made  at  Newberne,  North  Carolina,  where  he  acted  as 
clerk  until  1813,  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  a  house  in 
New  York ;  he  remained  in  Newberne  to  conduct  the  business 
there.  In  the  Southern  States  at  that  time  there  were  few  good 
roads,  and  Mr.  Sheffield  made  frequent  journeys  on  horseback  to 

(621) 


622  JOSEPH     EARLE     SHEFFIELD. 

introduce  his  commodities. into  the  interior;  in  this  way  riding  over 
a  thousand  miles  through  North  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Alabama, 
visiting  in  the  latter  State  Fort  Claiborne  and  descending  to 
Mobile,  then  a  pretty  seaport  of  a  few  thousand  inhabitants ;  but 
small  as  the  population  then  was,  he  saw  and  appreciated  its  capa- 
bilities as  an  exporting  site,  and  on  his  return  transferred  his 
business  from  Newberne  to  this  city  on  the  Gulf.  His  remarkable 
business  insight,  untiring  energy  and  perseverance,  soon  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  the  mercantile  circle  of  Mobile ;  he  became  an 
extensive  shipper  of  cotton,  and  was  offered  by  Nicholas  Biddle 
the  Presidency  of  the  Mobile  branch  of  the  United  States  Bank, 
but  about  this  time  having  decided  to  come  North  and  settle,  he 
declined  the  offer.  In  the  summer  of  1835  we  find  him  again  in 
his  native  State,  in  the  city  of  New  Haven,  and  from  this  period 
the  welfare  and  development  of  that  section  of  the  country  claimed 
his  devoted  attention. 

Mr.  Sheffield's  first  connection  with  the  public  works  of  the 
State  was  his  interest  in  the  construction  of  the  New  Haven  and 
North  Hampton  Canal.  The  success  of  the  Erie  Canal  had  nat- 
urally drawn  the  thoughts  of  capitalists  in  the  direction  of  canal- 
making,  and  many  short  canals  were  opened  and  more  planned 
throughout  the  country,  which  would  never  have  engulfed  the 
money  of  the  discerning  if  they  could  have  foreseen  the  approach- 
ing rivalry  of  the  locomotive.  Scarcely  was  the  New  Haven 
and  North  Hampton  Canal  an  accomplished  fact — pushed  to  com- 
pletion mainly  by  the  almost  superhuman  efforts  of  Mr.  Sheffield, 
who  had  great  and  very  embarrassing  difficulties  to  surmount, 
both  in  the  Legislature  of  his  own  and  the  neighboring  State  of 
Massachusetts,  but  also  in  overcoming  the  opposition  of  the  farmers 
(where  lands  were  to  be  acquired  from  private  parties)— than  he 
perceived  that  a  new  element  was  to  enter  into  the  calculations 
of  profit  and  loss  in  canal  property.  But  he  spent  no  time  in 
regrets,  but  promptly  retrieving  the  error,  if  error  it  was,  he  sold 
out  his  canal  stock,  and  turned  all  his  energies  in  the  direction 


JOSEPH     EARLE     SHEFFIELD,  623 

of  the  railroad  systems.  He  was  one  of  the  most  active  in  pro- 
curing the  charter  for  the  New  Haven  &  New  York  Railroad,  and 
also  of  the  New  Haven  &  North  Hampton  road ;  not  only  taking 
a  large  quantity  of  the  stock,  but  as  a  director  in  the  first  and  as 
president  of  the  latter  was  an  efficient  and  untiring  worker  for  the 
interest  of  both. 

In  connection  with  his  friend,  Mr.  Farnum,  he  now  extended  his 
horizon  to  the  West,  and  obtained  a  charter  for  the  construction 
of  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island  Railroad,  which  has  since  been 
extended,  and  is  now  the  "  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific."  The 
road  built  under  Mr.  Sheffield's  contract  was  completed  at  the 
moderate  cost  of  $5,000,000,  and  had  the  remarkable  merit  of  being 
built  in  a  shorter  time  than  the  charter  allowed  by  a  whole  year. 
This  was  perhaps  the  most  profitable  of  any  of  his  early  business 
transactions.  In  1856  he  withdrew  his  official  connection  from 
this  road,  desiring  to  visit  Europe,  which  he  did,  remaining 
abroad  two  years,  declining  also  a  re-election  as  director  of  the 
Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad  at  the  same  period.  Mr.  Sheffield 
was  one  of  the  old  school  Democrats,  as  loyal  and  patriotic  as 
his  prototype,  Jefferson ;  but  during  the  early  months  of  the  late 
civil  war  the  members  of  the  opposite  party  found  it  difficult  to 
believe  that  any  Democrat  could  be  "  truly  loyal ; "  they  had  an 
opportunity  to  test  Mr.  Sheffield's  faith  by  his  works.  A  certain 
military  officer  was  searching  through  New  Haven  for  a  quarter- 
master's storehouse,  suitable  buildings  for  such  a  purpose  not 
abounding  in  that  compact  little  city ;  only  two  places  met  his 
views,  one  of  these  being  owned  by  Mr.  Sheffield,  the  other  by  a 
wealthy  gentleman  of  different  political  sentiments;  the  officer 
first  applied  for  the  latter,  but  the  owner  refused  his  consent ; 
forced  then  to  apply  to  Mr.  Sheffield,  the  request  was  imme- 
diately granted.  "You  are  not  only  welcome  to  it,"  he  said,  "but 
if  you  needed  them  you  could  have  my  parlors  for  the  same  pur- 
pose," and  he  would  have  been  as  good  as  his  word. 

Mr.  Sheffield  had  married  in  1822,  Maria,  the  daughter  of  Colo- 


624  JOSEPH     EARLE     SHEFFIELD. 

nel  T.  St.  John,  of  Walton,  Delaware  county,  New  York.  Of  this 
marriage  there  were  four  daughters  and  two  sons.  One  of  these 
daughters  married  Prof.  John  A.  Porter,  of  Yale  University,  which 
was  probably  the  origin  of  Mr.  Sheffield's  unremitting  interest  in  it. 
So  early  as  1846  he  began  that  series  of  benefactions  which  ceased 
only  with  his  life — not  indeed  then,  for  his  will,  in  the  hands  of  his 
executors,  will  cause  the  good  work  to  be  continued.  His  first 
large  gift  to  Yale  was  a  capacious  building  on  the  corner  of  Grove 
and  Prospect  streets,  since  known  as  Sheffield  Hall ;  this  has  been 
twice  enlarged  and  refitted,  and  is  appropriated  to  the  uses  of  the 
scientific  department  of  the  college ;  to  this  munificent  gift  was 
added  a  fund  of  $130,000  for  the  maintenance  of  professorships. 
Then  followed  a  library  fund  of  $12,000;  the  next  movement  of 
Mr.  Sheffield  in  the  interest  of  the  college  was  his  purchase  of  the 
famous  Hill  House  mathematical  library,  at  a  cost  of  $41,000,  and 
its  transference  to  that  faculty ;  then  were  donated  in  succession, 
a  newly-erected  building  called  "  North  Sheffield  Hall,"  thoroughly 
furnished — this  cost  over  $100,000;  a  gift  to  the  Collier  Cabinet 
of  $2,700,  with  other  contributions  of  various  sums  for  current 
expenses,  too  numerous  to  mention.  Nor  was  New  Haven  the 
boundary  line  of  his  benefactions ;  Trinity  College,  Hartford, 
shared  in  these  gifts,  as  did  also  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Northwest,  situated  in  Chicago.  The  sum  of  his  donations  to 
educational  institutions  was  not  less  than  $650,000,  without  esti- 
mating the  smaller  sums  continually  dropping  from  his  hands  for 
contingent  expenses.  Seventy-five  thousand  dollars  were  ex- 
pended by  him  in  the  establishment  of  the  parish  home  in  connec- 
tion with  Trinity  Church,  in  New  Haven. 

One  very  pleasant  picture  of  Mr.  Sheffield's  character  should 
be  mentioned  in  connection  with  these  gifts;'  it  isfthat  he  was  not 
solicited  for  the  money,  but  gave  them  spontaneously,  freely  of 
his  own  will,  because  he  wished  to  do  it;  and  another  trait  equally 
pleasant  to  the  recipients  was,  that  he  never  sought  to  obtain  any 
control  in  consequence  of  his  gifts,  never  forced  his  opinion  on  the 


JOSEPH     EARLE     SHEFFIELD.  625 

special  application  of  the  money,  satisfied  that  those  whose  busi- 
ness it  was,  knew  the  needs  of  the  college  best.  During  the  last 
ten  years  of  his  life,  in  addition  to  the  large  and  incidental  sums 
thus  bestowed,  Mr.  Sheffield  donated  regularly  $10,000  to  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School.  Nor  were  these  public  gifts  those 
which,  he  most  enjoyed  distributing ;  a  lady  friend  calling  on  him ' 
in  reference  to  some  charity,  while  awaiting  his  appearance,  acci- 
dentally saw  a  list  of  his  private  charities  to  individuals  and  fam- 
ilies, which  amounted  to  $12,000  per  annum.  One  baker  in  New 
Haven,  for  many  years  previous  to  Mr.  Sheffield's  death,  had  per- 
manent orders  from  him  to  furnish  a  large  number  of  poor  persons 
regularly  with  bread.  It  ought  not  to  be  so  very  difficult  for  such 
"  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

From  the  frequency  of  his  largesse  to  the  needy,  as  well  as  his 
large  possessions,  he  obtained  the  sobriquet  of  "King  Sheffield," 
— and  truly  his  nature  was  royal ;  he  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  full  of  true  courtesy,  of  gracious  and 
charming  simplicity ;  there  was  not  the  slightest  taint  of  the  par- 
venu in  his  bearing;  he  was  tall,  a  fine  figure,  a  handsome  man 
even  in  old  age ;  he  stood  erect,  and  almost  to  the  last  failed  to 
show  any  signs  of  feebleness  in  his  gait.  He  closed  his  long, 
peaceful,  and  prosperous  career  on  the  i6th  of  February,  1882, 
having  reached  the  great  age  of  eighty-nine ;  his  widow  and  six 
children  surviving  him.  His  will  disposed  of  property  valued  at 
$3,142,367,  situated  in  Connecticut,  besides  real  estate  in  Chicago, 
and  in  the  South.  His  children  are  made  equal  residuary  heirs, 
after  ample  annuities  paid  to  his  widow  and  others.  After  the 
death  of  the  aged  widow,  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  will  receive 
the  final  bequest  of  an  additional  $339,000.  Another  valuable  be- 
quest was  $100,000,  in  bonds  of  the  New  Haven  £  North 
Hampton  Railroad  Company,  to  the  Berkeley  Divinity  School,  in 
Middletown,  Connecticut ;  some  minor  bequests  amounting  to 
about  $50,000.  His  sons  are  George  St.  John  Sheffield,  of  New 
York,  and  Charles  J.,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
40 


CHARLES   F.   CROCKER. 

MR.  CROCKER  is  Vice-President  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  is  the  son  of  the  late  Charles  Crocker,  called  "  the  Croesus  of 
the  Pacific  States,"  and  who  was  one  of  the  original  syndicate  which 
projected  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad.  It  was  this  gentleman 
of  whom  the  story  is  told  that  he  was  exceedingly  fond  of  repeat- 
ing on  all  occasions  that  he  was  "a  self-made  man,"  and  that 
after  he  became  immensely  wealthy  he  determined  to  take  a  trip 
around  the  world ;  using  his  favorite  phrase  to  excuse  any  and 
every  deviation  from  conventional  rules  of  etiquette ;  and  that, 
being  on  board  of  an  English  vessel  passing  through  the  Red  Sea, 
where  the  heat  is  almost  intolerable,  he  ventured  so  far  with  his 
independent  notions  as  to  take  his  seat  at  the  table  without  his 
coat,  remarking  as  he  did  so  that  "a  self-made  man  did  not  need 
a  coat  with  the  thermometer  at  1 20°."  His  proceeding  raised  an 
intense  feeling  of  disgust  among  the  passengers,  who  appealed 
to  the  captain  to  have  this  defiance  of  custom  overruled.  Mr. 
Crocker  yielded  to  the  suggestion  of  the  commander  to  resume 
his  coat,  but  not  without  one  more  note  to  the  refrain  as  to  his 
being  "  self-made." 

A  quiet  old  gentleman,  who  had  been  watching  him  with  a 
somewhat  severe  eye,  was  heard  to  ejaculate,  sotto  voce:  "What 
a  responsibility  the  Almighty  was  relieved  from  when  you  made 
yourself."  Mr.  Charles  F.  Crocker  not  being  so  entirely  self- 
made,  is  naturally  more  amenable  to  the  usual  requirements  of 
good  society. 

Mr.  Crocker's  assessment  on  personal  property  in  San  Fran- 
cisco sums  up  $19,187,000,  consisting  mainly  of  shares  in  the  Cen- 
(626) 


CHARLES   F.    CROCKER 


CHARLES     F.     CROCKER.  627 

tral  Pacific  and  Southern  Pacific  Railroads ;  he  also  has  a  large 
interest  in  the  Oakland  Water  Front  Company. 

His  house  is  the  last  of  the  four  palaces  of  the  railroad  kings, 
and  occupies  an  entire  block,  surrounded  by  four  streets.  It  is  a 
spacious  mansion,  but  is  not  admirable  for  its  architectural  style. 
The  noble  steps  that  lead  to  the  main  entrance,  and  the  wide 
sweep  of  lawn,  which  is  broken  only  by  an  occasional  vase  or  orna- 
mental plant,  are  its  most  attractive  features.  Within,  the  house 
is  adapted  for  the  giving  of  great  entertainments,  and  is  beautifully 
furnished.  Mr.  Crocker  has  a  valuable  collection  of  pictures, 
mainly  the  works  of  foreign  artists  of  the  modern  school. 

The  only  son  of  Mr.  Crocker,  Charles  T.,  married  Miss  Easton, 
a  niece  of  D.  O.  Mills,  and  he  is  the  possessor  of  a  handsome  resi- 
dence in  San  Francisco,  presented  to  him  by  his  father.  Mr.  Mills 
gave  the  bride  a  beautiful  country-house  at  Menlo. 

When  Mr.  Crocker  died,  his  family  consisted  of  his  widow,  this 
son,  and  one  daughter,  Miss  Hattie  Crocker,  who  is,  with  perhaps 
one  exception,  the  richest  young  woman  in  the  United  States. 


ELIAS    HOWE, 

WHEN  the  world  is  ripe  for  a  grand  discovery  or  invention,  there 
appears  a  discoverer  or  inventor.  Unhappily,  however,  they  do 
not  always  come  singly  or  even  in  twos  or  threes,  but  usually  in 
scores,  each  claiming  to  be  the  original ;  hence  all  suffer  more  or 
less  from  counter  claims,  and  if  there  is  one  absolutely  in  advance 
of  all  others  his  life  is  usually  made  wretched,  and  years  of  pov- 
erty are  entailed  upon  him  by  the  opposition  and  obstructions  put 
in  his  way  before  his  claims  are  officially  recognized ;  and  any  in- 
ventor may  be  counted  happy  who  has  not  in  some  unfortunate 
moment  of  depression  sold  out  his  m6del  for  a  trifle  of  money,  to 
keep  himself  or  family  on  hither  bounds  of  absolute  want.  For 
thirty  years  Elias  Howe's  life  was  one  long  struggle  with  fate. 
Born  in  Spencer,  Massachusetts,  in  1819,  one  of  eight  children,  his 
father,  a  miller  and  farmer,  with  no  superfluous  cash,  little  Elias, 
at  the  tender  age  of  six  years,  was  set  to  work  to  help  earn  money 
for  the  family's  support.  His  employment  was  to  stick  wire  teeth 
into  strips  of  leather,  which  was  then  the  somewhat  primitive 
device  for  carding  cotton.  As  he  grew  older  he  assisted  his  father 
in  the  saw-mill  and  in  the  grist-mill ;  but  he  was  a  delicate  boy,  un- 
fitted for  rough  work,  and  suffered  much  in  consequence ;  at  the 
time  when  he  was  only  eleven  years  old,  he  went  out  to  work  for 
a  neighboring  farmer,  but  was  treated  so  unmercifully  that  he  had 
to  return  home  to  the  old  work  in  the  mill.  Here  he  gained  some 
idea  of  mechanical  power  which  he  put  to  use  in  later  days. 

When  sixteen  years  eld  he  went  to  Lowell  and  entered  a  cotton 
factory  there  as  a  learner ;  but  at  about  the  end  of  two  years  the 
financial  panic  of  1837  closed  the  factory,  and  he  had  to  look  else- 
where for  employment.  He  had  added  some  little  to  his  knowl- 
(628) 


ELI  AS     HOWE.  629 

edge  of  machinery  by  his  observations  in  Lowell.  At  this  time 
his  cousin,  N.  P.  Banks,  afterwards  Governor  of  Massachusetts, 
member  of  Congress,  and  Major-General  of  the  United  States 
(volunteers)  army,  was  at  work  in  a  machine-shop  in  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  and  thither  Elias  Howe  went  in  search  of  work, 
and  obtained  it. 

Some  observing  philosopher  has  said,  that  "  a  young  man  mar- 
ried is  a  young  man  marred."  Elias  Howe  married  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  ;  with  delicate  health,  and  wages  of  nine  dollars  a  week. 
Three  children  soon  added  to  his  embarrassments.  Often  unable 
to  work,  and  when  he  did  suffering  extremely  from  exhaustion,  his 
wife  tried  to  eke  out  the  means  of  living  by  taking  in  sewing. 
Elias  watched,  often  with  heavy  heart,  this  weary  process,  and  set 
his  inventive  faculties  to  work  to  produce  a  machine  to  relieve  or 
expedite  this  monotonous  labor;  and,  in  1844,  had  produced  a 
model  having  a  needle  pointed  at  both  ends,  with  the  eye  in  the 
middle,  and  planned  to  work  vertically  through  the  cloth ;  he  had 
intended  to  imitate  the  action  of  the  human  hand,  but  this  proved 
unsuccessful.  Then  he  hit  upon  the  idea  of  using  two  threads, 
and  forming  a  stitch  by  the  aid  of  a  shuttle  and  a  curved  needle, 
with  the  eye  near  the  point.  This  was  the  germ  of  his  final  tri- 
umph, and,  in  the  fall  of  1844  (October),  he  had  constructed  a 
machine  which  could  be  practically  used,  though  not  perfect.  In 
the  meantime  he  was  penniless,  and  had  to  go  back,  taking  his 
family  with  him,  for  shelter  in  his  father's  house.  His  father  had 
removed  to  Cambridge  and  was  then  engaged  in  the  stripping  of 
the  palm-leaf  by  machinery,  for  the  making  of  hats.  Here,  in  a 
garret,  Elias  Howe  persevered  in  the  perfecting  of  his  machine, 
but  he  had  no  money  to  get  a  proper  model  made,  either  to  ex- 
hibit or  through  which  to  procure  a  patent. 

At  last  a  friend,  Mr.  George  Fisher,  offered  him  the  use  of  a 
room  in  his  house,  with  board  for  his  family  for  the  winter,  and  the 
advance  of  $500  to  construct  a  perfect  model,  on  condition  of  re- 
ceiving a  half  right  in  the  patent  when  obtained.  Having  no  other 
resource  Mr.  Howe  accepted  these  conditions.  In  May,  1845,  he 


.530  ELIAS.    HOWE. 

made  with  his  completed  machine  two  woollen  suits,  one  for  him- 
self and  one  for  Mr.  Fisher.  He  then  secured  a  patent,  but  could 
not  sell  his  machines.  The  tailoring  trade  of  Boston  rejected  them 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  ruin  their  business,  and  other  indus- 
tries regarded  them  with  equal  suspicion;  in  brief  he  received  plenty 
of  compliments  but  no  cash.  Mr.  Fisher  became  disgusted  with 
the  whole  thing,  and  withdrew  further  aid.  Mr.  Howe  took  his 
family  back  to  his  father's  house  onct  more,  obtaining  for  himself 
a  position  as  an  engineer  on  a  railroad ;  but  his  hopes  were 
crushed,  and  this  depression  of  spirits  helped  to  break  down  his 
health,  and  he  had  to  resign.  In  1846  he  induced  his  brother 
Amasa  to  take  his  machine  to  London.  Here  an  umbrella-maker 
offered  to  give  $1,250  for  the  machine,  and  to  pay  Mr.  Elias  Howe 
fifteen  dollars  a  week  to  run  it :  he  went  to  England  soon  after 
sending  for  his  family.  Mr.  Howe  found  the  umbrella-maker  op- 
pressive and  exacting,  and  stayed  but  eight  months  with  him ;  he 
was  obliged  to  delay  his  return  for  want  of  funds,  and  just  as  he 
reached  home  his  wife  died.  His  few  household  goods,  which  he 
sent  in  another  vessel,  were  lost  at  sea. 

Discouraged  but  energetic  he  obtained  employment  and  was 
able  to  support  his  children.  He  soon  found  that  in  his  absence 
his  machine  had  been  taken  up  by  others,  and  was  being  rapidly 
introduced.  He  then  commenced  suits  to  defend  his  patent-right, 
which,  after  a  litigation  of  four  years,  was  decided  in  his  favor  in 
1854.  The  era  of  his  prosperity  now  commenced.  He  had  entered 
previously  into  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Bliss,  who  had  advanced 
him  money;  his  partner  died  in  1855,  and  he  now  became  the  sole 
proprietor  of  his  patent.  His  machine  received  the  gold  medal-at 
the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867,  by  which  year  his  annual  sales  of 
"rights"  to  use  his  machine  amounted  to  $200,000.  In  the  war 
he  gave  large  sums  to  the  Union  cause,  and  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  the  Seventeenth  regiment  of  Connecticut  Volunteers.  At  one 
time  he  paid  the  whole  regiment  their  delayed  claims.  He  mar- 
ried a  second  time  and  died  in  Brooklyn,  Long  Island,  October  3, 
1877,  a  very  rich  man. 


THEODORE   A.    HAVEMEYER. 

MR.  THEODORE  A.  HAVEMEYER,  who  is  the  present  head  of  the 
largest  sugar  refinery  in  the  United  States,  and  probably  in  the 
world,  is  the  son  of  Mr.  William  F.  Havemeyer,  who  founded  the 
large  establishment  in  the  Eastern  district  of  Brooklyn  (old  Wil- 
liamsburg).  William  F.  Havemeyer,  who  was  born  in  New  York 
in  1807,  was  a  well-educated  man,  though  not  a  college  graduate,  as 
he  left  Columbia  College  in  his  sophomore  year.  At  that  time 
his  father  and  an  uncle  were  in  the  sugar  refinery  business  in 
Vandam  street,  New  York,  where  they  had  started  their  works  in 
a  small  building  twenty-five  by  forty  feet  and  with  one  assistant. 
In  1823,  when  William  was  about  sixteen,  he  became  the  appren- 
tice of  his  father  and  his  uncle,  who  were  in  partnership,  and  the 
latter  of  whom  had  learned  his  trade  in  England,  and  knew  all 
that  was  known  about  it  in  his  day.  Young  William  worked  with 
the  men  for  five  years,  doing  everything  from  passing  coal  for  the 
furnaces  to  performing  the  most  delicate  and  complex  processes 
of  the  refining  room.  The  business  was  even  then  very  profitable, 
combining  both  the  wholesale  and  re^il  trade,  and  at  the  old  place 
in  Vandam  street  ladies  in  their  carriages  might  often  be  seen 
ordering  from  one  to  twenty  "sugar  loaves." 

In  1828  Frederick  C.  Havemeyer  was  taken  into  partnership 
with  his  cousin  William  F.  Havemeyer,  and  it  was  the  latter  who 
was  in  after  years  twice  elected  Mayor  of  New  York.  The  firm-name 
was  W.  F.  &  F.  C.  Havemeyer,  and  this  arrangement  continued 
until  1842,  when  both  of  these  gentlemen  retired  from  business  in 
favor  of  their  brothers  Albert  and  Diedrick.  During  the  same 
year  the  father  of  William  F.  had  died,  leaving  a  very  considerable 
estate,  in  the  management  and  investments  of  which  he  occupied 

(630 


632  THEODORE    A.    HAVE  MEYER. 

himself  for  the  ensuing  twelve  years;  varied  by  some  trips  to 
the  Southern  States  and  to  Europe;  but  rather  wearying  of  this 
comparative  inactivity,  and  desiring  to  see  his  sons  well  estab- 
lished in  business,  in  1855  Mr.  Havemeyer  decided  to  start  anew 
in  the  old  work  of  refining  sugar.  He  took  a  partner,  named 
Townsend,  located  the  business  in  Williamsburg,  and  erected  the 
original  building  which  now  forms  part  of  the  group  of  buildings 
occupied  by  the  firm  of  "  Havemeyer  &  Elder,"  on  First  street, 
near  South  Third. 

In  1861  Mr.  Havemeyer's  son,  George  H.,  and  Dwight  Town- 
send  were  added  to  the  firm  ;  but  George  was  unfortunately  killed 
by  an  accident  at  the  sugar  works  the  same  year  ;  when  another 
son,  Theodore  A.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  taken  into  part- 
nership ;  and  also  a  son-in-law,  Mr.  J.  Lawrence  Elder ;  and  it  was 
at  this  period  that  the  firm-name  became  "  Havemeyer  &  Elder." 
Subsequently,  two  other  sons  of  Mr.  Havemeyer  became  partners; 
Thomas  J.  and  Henry  O.,  and  also  a  nephew,  Charles  H.  Sneff. 
In  1868  Mr.  Elder  died;  but  no  change  was  then  made  nor  has 
since  been  made  in  the  appellation  of  the  firm.  Up  to  about  1877 
Mr.  William  F.  Havemeyer  continued  the  head  of  the  firm  practi- 
cally as  well  as  nominally ;  but  since  the  death  of  the  senior  part- 
ner, Mr.  Theodore,  as  the  elder  of  the  brothers,  became  the  lead- 
ing spirit.  The  buildings  were  several  times  enlarged;  but  in 
1 88 1  the  central  building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  since  which  time 
it  has  been  rebuilt  on  a  truly  gigantic  plan ;  to  carry  out  his  de- 
signs, Mr.  Havemeyer  bought  an  adjoining  building,  nine  stories 
in  height,  which  was  razed  to  the  ground,  so  that  the  new  building- 
could  be  erected  on  a  carefully  considered  plan,  combining  every 
possible  modern  improvement  and  convenience.  These  immense 
structures,  from  ten  to  thirteen  stories  in  height,  are  erected  on 

£> 

the  East  River  front,  between  South  Second  and  South  Sixth 
streets,  being  connected  by  bridges  for  the  convenience  of  work- 
men ;  they  are  built  of  brick  and  iron,  with  walls  four  feet  thick  at 
the  bottom,  and  two  at  the  top ;  the  floors  are  also  brick,  formed  of 


THEODORE    A.    HAVEMEYER.  633 

flat-topped  arches,  supported  by  iron  columns,  beams  and  girders, 
braced  to  cast-iron  columns,  each  of  which  will  sustain  four  hun- 
dred tons.  Nothing  inflammable  enters  into  the  construction.  So 
absolutely  fire-proof  are  these  buildings  that  Mr.  Havemeyer  does 
not  insure  them.  Electric  lights  are  used,  and  the  furnaces  are 
built  outside,  nearer  to  the  docks.  The  filtering  house  is  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  high.  The  capacity  of  production  is  about 
twelve  hundred  tons  of  sugar  daily.  The  total  cost  of  this  series 
of  great  warehouses  was  $2,500,000.  Mr.  Havemeyer  owns  other 
refineries  at  the  foot  of  South  Ninth  street  and  also  North  Third 
street. 

In  addition  to  these  and  other  interests  in  the  sugar  line  Mr. 
Havemeyer  is  the  practical  owner  of  the  vast  cooperage  works, 
occupying  an  entire  block  between  North  Fourth  and  North  Fifth 
streets,  which  is  commonly  called  "  Palmer's  Cooperage."  Close 
to  this  is  Mr.  Havenieyer's  freight  depot,  which  is  used  exclusively 
by  the  Erie  Railroad,  and  so  large  is  the  business  of  this  station 
that  it  ranks  fourth  in  freight  value  of  all  the  stations  on  the  Erie 
road;  though  Mr.  Havemeyer's  freightage  is  far  in  excess  of  any 
other  individual  using  this  station,  it  is  open  not  only  to  other 
business  men  in  the  eastern  district,  but  also  to  other  sugar-refiners 
who  ship  and  receive  goods  at  this  depot ;  and  from  the  increasing 
pressure  of  business  it  will  soon  become  absolutely  necessary  for 
Mr.  Havemeyer  to  extend  its  facilities.  No  trains  enter  this  part 
of  the  city,  but  trains  of  cars  are  taken  on  and  off  by  barge  floats 
several  times  in  the  course  of  a  day,  and  are  tugged  through  the 
East  river  and  round  the  Battery  to  Jersey  City,  whence  the 
freight  is  distributed  south  and  west ;  in  this  way  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  coopering  business  is  a  natural  adjunct  to  the 
exportation  of  sugar:  all  the  barrels  thus  being  made  at  first 
cost  saves  a  large  item  of  expense  in  conducting  this  enormous 
business. 

Mr.  Havemeyer  naturally  leaves  the  details  of  this  business  in 
the  hands  of  the  younger  members  of  the  firm  to  a  great  extent; 


6^4  THEODORE     A.     HAVEMEYER. 

indeed,  he  has  been  in  Europe  for  a  number  of  years  as  United 
States  Consul  to  Austria,  and  when  at  home  spends  much  time  at 
his  famous  "  Mountain-side  Farm."  This  is  one  of  the  best  known 
farms  in  the  country,  situated  about  two  miles  from  Mahwah  sta- 
tion on  the  Erie  Railroad  in  New  Jersey.  At  the  close  of  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  National  Agricultural  Association  in  New  York,  a 
large  number  of  the  members  went  over  the  road  to  Mahwah  to 
visit  this  splendid  model  of  millionaire  farming.  In  the  midst  of 
three  hundred  acres  of  level  land  stands  the  stately  mansion  of  the 
owner,  near  which  is  a  "village  of  buildings" — offices,  stables, 
barns,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  place  ;  the  background  is  formed  by 
a  portion  of  the  Stirling  range  of  mountains,  while  the  river 
Ramapo  flows  at  the  base.  One  striking  feature  of  the  farm  ap- 
purtenances is  a  barn  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  in  length, 
broad  in  proportion,  and  through  it  runs  a  wide  carriage-way ;  two 
wings,  each  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long,  help  to  compose  this 
remarkable  structure ;  under  this  triple  roof  is  contained  the  silos, 
ice-house,  dairy  quarters,  the  machinery,  etc.  Steam  is  used  for 
all  the  operations  to  which  it  is  possible  to  apply  it,  and  an  ample 
supply  of  pure  water  is  brought  through  pipes  from  the  river.  In 
the  stable  are  permanently  kept  twenty-five  high-bred  horses  for 
pleasure-driving  and  riding  alone ;  but  the  fame  of  Mountain-side 
Farm  is  its  dairy  and  the  fine  herd  of  cattle,  all  from  pure  Jersey 
(Channel  Island)  stock.  Of  these  there  are  over  one  hundred, 
not  reckoning  calves :  for  a  bull  named  Farmer's  Glory  Mr.  Have- 
meyer  paid  $5,000,  and  others  approximated  to  that  value.  The 
yearly  sale  of  the  colts  and  calves  at  this  farm  is  always  an  event 
of  public  interest.  No  second-class  cattle  are  tolerated  on  this 
famous  farm,  and  probably  there  are  not  three  finer  cows  in  the 
.world  than  Mr.  Havemeyer's  Sultane  IV.,  Regina,  and  Coomassie. 
The  agricultural  community  are  greatly  benefited  when  persons 
of  wealth  take  to  "  fancy  farming,"  as  it  is  often  improperly  called. 
Scientific  farming  it  is,  and  by  the  introduction  of  superior  breeds 
of  horses  and  cattle,  and  this  distribution  of  their  progeny  by  sale, 


THEODORE     A.    HAVEMEYER.  635 

the  standard  is  naturally  raised  among  farmers  of  less  wealth; 
while  the  extended  scale  on  which  experiments  are  made  on  such 
farms  as  Mountain-side,  save  men  of  smaller  means  from  risking 
their  capital  uselessly ;  whatever  is  of  value  in  improved  modes 
of  agriculture  and  stock-raising  is  first  tested  by  the  millionaire 
farmer,  and  all  others  are  at  liberty  to  profit  by  these  experi- 
ments. Even  in  the  matter  of  poultry  this  great  farm  fur- 
nishes a  model  by  placing  hens,  not  in  a  dark  prison,  but  in 
light  cheerful  houses  with  glass  roofs.  Mr.  Havemeyer  is  .still  in 
mid.dle  life,  and  likely  to  continue  this  beneficent  work  for  many 
years  to  come. 


STEPHEN   GIRARD. 

STEPHEN  GIRARD,  whose  name  is  identified  with  the  fame  and 
prosperity  of  Philadelphia,  was  the  son  of  obscure  parents,  who 
were  natives  of  Bordeaux,  France.  His  birth  occurred  May  24, 
1750,  in  Bordeaux,  France,  and  to  his  heritage  of  poverty  was 
added  a  physical  deformity  that  rendered  him  the  butt  of  ridicule 
to  his  vulgar  schoolmates,  and  made  him  acutely  sensitive  as  to 
his  personal  appearance.  He  was  eight  years  old  before  he  knew 
that  his  right  eye  was  blemished — the  boys  at  the  village  school 
greeting  him  with  the  sobriquet  "blind  eye."  His  family  were 
doubtless  indifferent  to  the  defect  which  caused  him  so  much  mor- 
tification in  childhood,  and  was  a  source  of  bitter  regret  to  him  all 
the  days  of  his  life.  Like  Byron,  whose  deformed  leg  cost  him 
the  contentment  of  his  life,  he  was  intensely  sensitive,  and  was  not 
understood,  perhaps,  by  his  family.  At  least  he  exhibited  certain 
defects  of  character  in  manhood  which  were  and  could  only  be  the 
result  of  a  loveless  childhood.  That  he  was  a  neglected  child  is 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  when  he  learned  of  his  misfortune 
through  the  jeers  of  his  schoolmates,  he  went  alone  to  a  physician 
and  sought  his  views  regarding  the  extent  of  the  injury  of  his  eye 
— thus  exhibiting  a  quality  which  distinguished  him  through  life. 
But  his  courageous  act  resulted  in  naught,  for  his  parents,  either 
indifferent  or  prejudiced  where  they  were  ignorant,  did  not  follow 
up  the  advice  given  and  have  the  operation  performed,  which  he 
was  assured  would  remove  the  obstacle  to  his  sight.  The  little  lad 
took  up  his  cross,  inflicted  by  others,  and  however  he  may  have 
suffered  he  tried  no  more  to  relieve  himself.  Life  became  irksome 
to  him  when  he  was  ten  years  of  age,  and  he  left  home  before  he 
was  fourteen,  and  became  a  cabm-boy  on  a  West  India  vessel. 
(636) 


STEPHEN  GIRARO. 


STEPHEN     GIRARD.  637 

His  unhappiness  at  home  was  due  primarily  to  his  disfigurement; 
and  secondarily  to  the  fact,  that  while  he  was  quite  young  his 
father  married  again,  and  the  children,  of  whom  there  were  five, 
and  he  the  eldest,  naturally  drifted  away  from  the  household,  where 
a  second  family  came  in  time  to  supplant  them.  Starting  out  as  a 
cabin-boy  with  a  "  wall  eye,"  as  he  was  often  reminded,  he  ren- 
dered life  endurable  by  constant  industry  and  a  desire  to  improve 
his  defective  education.  He  studied  practically,  for  he  was  im- 
pelled by  the  very  sensitiveness  of  his  nature  to  be  practical,  and 
by  his  hard  necessities  to  crush  the  sensibility  which  was  an  im- 
pediment to  his  success.  Stephen  Girard  had  a  substratum  of 
poetry  in  his  nature,  and  a  refinement  of  feeling  which,  had  it  been 
acted  upon  sooner,  would  have  developed  into  harmony  his  less 
attractive  qualities.  The  mother  hand  was  withheld,  and  the  best 
that  was  in  him  was  blighted.  All  his  life  he  exhibited  the  draw- 
backs of  a  nature  that  lacked  the  traits  which  a  mother  only  can 
first  call  into  being.  He  was  wanting  in  high  appreciation  of  wo- 
manhood, and  his  glaring  defects  were  those  which  a  strong 
woman's  love  could  have  redeemed.  These  are  not  the  senti- 
ments which  his  biographers  usually  express  of  him,  but  they  are 
true  in  fact  and  sound  in  theory.  One  cannot  look  upon  the  face 
of  this  stern,  lonely  man,  as  it  appears  in  the  portraits  and  busts 
left  of  him,  and  not  feel  a  pang  of  sympathy  for  his  lot.  It  was  so 
lonely;  so  uncrowned  with  romance,  or  beauty,  or  bliss. 

Before  fourteen  years  had  passed  over  the  head  of  young  Ste- 
phen he  had  adopted,  naturally  enough,  the  profession  of  his 
father,  and  began  at  the  lowest  round  of  the  ladder  as  a  cabin-boy. 
From  that  time  till  he  was  twenty-three  years  old  he  sailed  between 
the  port  of  his  native  town  and  those  West  India  Islands  belong- 
ing to  France,  during  which  time  he  became  mate  of  the  vessel  on 
which  he  was  engaged.  He  was  then  as  competent  to  manage  the 
ship  as  the  captain  himself;  but  by  French  law  no  youth  below  the 
age  of  twenty-five  could  assume  that  position.  A  license  was  pro- 
cured for  young  Girard,  however,  by  his  father,  who  advanced  the 


638  STEPHEN     GIRARD. 

means  by  which  he  was  able  to  make  his  first  trading  venture 
upon  the  seas.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  a  year  afterward,  the 
young  Frenchman  sailed  for  New  York  with  a  cargo  of  goods, 
and  he  reached  that  land  which  was  to  be  henceforth  the  scene  of 
his  labors  and  his  prosperity,  in  July,  1776.  For  two  years  he  sailed 
as  mate  of  a  ship  plying  between  New  York  and  New  Orleans, 
until,  by  a  seeming  accident,  fortune  drifted  him  into  Philadelphia. 

It  was  in  this  wise.  Being  entangled  in  a  fog  at  the  entrance  of 
Delaware  bay,  as  he  was  sailing  northward,  he  found  the  only  way 
to  escape  the  British  cruisers,  which  were  infesting  the  entry  of  all 
American  ports,  was  to  make  all  speed  up  the  bay  instead  of  seek- 
ing the  coast  outside.  Having  secured  a  pilot  his  vessel  went  up 
the  bay  followed  by  a  British  man-of-war ;  but  Girard  was  soon 
safe  under  the  forts  of  the  Delaware.  But  his  occupation  was  now 
closed.  Every  harbor  was  blockaded,  and  young  Girard  was 
forced  to  settle  down  as  a  wine-bottler,  to  which  business  he 
carried  that  intensity,  perseverance,  energy,  and  industry,  which 
had  already  become  the  leading  qualities  of  his  forceful  mind. 
On  Water  street  he  rented  a  little  store — that  place  which  was 
his  home  from  that  period  until  his  death.  Wealth  and  fashion 
flowed  by,  taking  other  portions  of  the  fair  city  for  places  of 
residence,  in  which  comfort  and  luxury  could  blossom  out  into 
beauty— little  cared  he.  To  all  that  goes  to  make  life  attractive, 
smiling,  joyous,  "  the  old  man,"  as  he  was  called  before  he  reached 
the  age  of  thirty,  was  oblivious.  He  set  every  faculty  to  its  ut- 
most task  in  making  a  success  of  business. 

The  love  of  money  became  an  overmastering  passion,  and  for 
it  he  was  compelled  to  sacrifice  much  that  is  necessary  to  a  com- 
plete and  rounded  manhood.  The  successful  development  of 
any  one  faculty  is  only  obtained  at  the  expense  of  others. 

And  now  comes  the  sad  story  of  his  married  life.  To  the  pump 
in  front  of  his  store  came  to  draw  water,  among  others,  a  bright, 
pretty  servant-girl  of  sixteen,  whom  the  young  trader  soon  learned 
to  watch  for,  and,  in  his  own  way,  to  love.  In  two  months'  time  he 


STEPHEN     GIRARD.  639 

persuaded  her  to  give  up  service  and  become  his  wife  ;  she  a  fresh, 
gay,  undisciplined  girl;  he  a  grave,  preternaturally  old,  money- 
loving  man,  eleven  years  her  senior.  But  Polly  Lumm,  had  she 
preserved  health  and  reason,  might  have  made  his  life  so  different. 
She  might  have  kept  the  domestic  instinct  alive  in  the  bosom 
which  grew  hard  and  stern  with  the  increase  of  years  and  of 
wealth.  We  have  reason  to  believe  so,  because,  to  the  end  of  his 
days,  Girard  loved  children.  Their  prattle,  their  winsome  ways, 
their  baby  unconsciousness,  always  pleased  him.  It  was  like  a 
warm,  glowing  ray  over  a  bank  of  snow ;  like  flowers  blooming 
in  the  cleft  of  barren  rock.  However,  life  seemed  propitious 
for  her,  then.  Eight  years  after  marriage  she  became  de- 
ranged and  was  placed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital.  The  only- 
issue  of  this  ill-starred  marriage  was  born  while  Mrs.  Girard  was 
insane,  and  most  fortunately  it  died.  During  the  years  that  she 
was  an  inmate  of  that  institution  (where  she  died  thirty-eight 
years  after  their  marriage,  in  1815)  her  husband  returned  to  his  old 
occupation,  and  spent  much  time  at  sea.  Meanwhile  the  country 
was  at  war  with  England,  and  Philadelphia  suffered  in  common 
with  all  parts  of  the  country.  Girard  took  no  part  in  the  struggle, 
and  gave  his  time  to  the  business  he  had  more  closely  now  than 
ever  devoted  himself  to.  His  brother  John  was  in  business  in 
St.  Domingo,  and  Stephen  formed  connection  with  the  house  he 
was  associated  with,  and  in  order  to  extend  his  business  took  a 
partner.  The  plan  did  not  prosper  and  he  dissolved  it  shortly, 
and  took  his  brother  in  with  him.  This  arrangement  no  more 
than  the  first  one  suited  him,  and  he  severed  his  connection  with 
his  brother,  between  whom  and  himself  no  very  cordial  feeling  ex- 
isted. Girard  was  of  an  exceedingly  arbitrary  disposition,  and  he 
could  not  endure  to  be  restrained  or  counselled  by  others.  Until 
he  was  utterly  alone  in  the  world  again  his  prosperity  was  not 
great.  He  made  his  fortune  in  a  period  succeeding  1786,  and  the 
foundation  of  it,  though  laid  by  his  own  hands,  was  strengthened 
by  the  large  accessions  he  received  through  the  insurrection  of 


640  STEPHEN    GIRARD. 

the  negroes  at  St.  Domingo.  He  had  two  vessels  in  port  at  the 
time,  and  they  became  the  repository  of  much  valuable  property 
which  the  planters  intrusted  to  their  officers  for  safe-keeping. 
Many  of  the  owners  of  this  property  were  massacred,  and  Girard 
found  himself,  when  his  vessels  returned  to  Philadelphia,  over 
fifty  thousand  dollars  richer  than  he  was  before.  With  this  addi- 
tion to  his  fortune  he  set  about  building  ships  and  increasing  his 
wealth  by  expanding  commerce  between  Philadelphia  and  numer- 
ous foreign  ports.  It  is  but  fair  to  say  that  this  statement  has 
been  denied  by  some  authorities. 

The  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  its  most  fatal  form  in  Philadel- 
phia, in  July,  1793,  and  the  city  soon  became  a  vast  pestilential 
hospital.  In  the  midst  of  the  epidemic,  when  nurses  could  not  be 
had  for  love  nor  money,  Mr.  Girard  and  Peter  Helm,  members  of 
the  committee  organized  to  take  active  measures  for  the  relief  of 
the  sick,  volunteered  to  personally  take  charge  of  the  hospital. 
Mr.  Girard  entered  upon  his  duties  the  same  day,  and  for  sixty 
days  he  worked  day  and  night  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 
Some  years  later  the  fever  again  raged  in  Philadelphia,  and  Mr. 
Girard  again  contributed  largely  of  his  means  and  devoted  him- 
self to  the  cafe  and  service  of  the  sick.  Such  noble  deeds  are 
rare  in  the  history  of  pestilences,  and  they  were  not  forgotten  by 
his  fellow-citizens.  Nothing  won  for  the  name  of  Girard  such 
fame  as  did  his  presence  in  the  hospitals  at  a  time  when  every  one 
felt  afraid  to  remain  in  the  city,  and  when  the  sick  were  left  to  die 
in  many  instances  by  member?  of  their  families,  who  were  panic- 
stricken  and  fled  through  terror.  Some  divinity  was  in  the  heart  of  a 
man  who  could  make  such  sacrifices  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-men. 

In  another  light  Mr.  Girard's  character  exhibited  some  fine 
traits,  such  as  one  would  not  expect  to  find  in  one  so  fond  of 
money  and  so  indifferent  to  the  mass  of  people.  On  the  death  of 
his  brother  John,  he  took  charge  of  his  three  little  girls,  now  left 
wholly  orphaned.  They  were  sent  to  good  schools,  their  individ- 
ual tastes  were  consulted,  and  his  house  was  their  home.  Perhaps 


STEPHEN    GIRARD.  641 

it  was  through  their  unconscious  influence  that,  as  he  gathered 
wealth,  he  began  to  fit  up  the  old  house  in  Water  street,  and  make 
it  less  dingy  and  more  habitable.  Visitors  came  and  went  up  the 
dingy  staircase,  and  dined  and  wined  with  the  grim  old  man,  who 
was  never  happier  than  when  feasting  them  on  food  of  which  he 
would  never  taste.  Among  these  was  Joseph  Bonaparte,  who  fre- 
quently came  to  Philadelphia  from  his  home  in  Bordentown,  New 
Jersey.  The  young  nieces  attracted  attention,  and,  no  doubt,  were 
forced  to  exercise  their  wits  in  order  to  secure  the  pleasures  which 
are  so  natural  and  so  necessary  to  the  young.  He  cared  noth- 
ing for  recreation  and  amusements:  why  should  they?  He  liked 
them,  but  they  must  disturb  neither  him  nor  the  settled  order  of 
his  life.  It  is  even  recorded  that  they  slipped  away,  one  or 
another  of  them,  Cinderella-like,  to  entertainments  and  merry- 
makings, and  were  let  in  when  all  was  over  by  the  housekeeper, 
and  their  uncle  never  the  wiser  for  it  all.  At  ten  o'clock  he  was 
in  bed,  and  supposed  they  were.  The  world  was  made  for  work  : 
what  was  not  work  was  foolishness. 

His  life  brightened  a  little  as  we  contemplate  it  at  his  farm  a  few 
miles  out  of  Philadelphia.  There  must  have  been  something 
genuine  about  his  tastes,  for  he  seemed  to  love  all  things  which 
grew  and  flourished  about  this  place.  When  he  visited  there  it 
was  as  no  amateur.  Driving  out  in  a  wretched-looking  old  gig, 
with  a  horse  equally  old  and  ill-favored,  the  millionaire  went  to 
work  like  one  of  the  men  whom  he  employed.  He  was  fond  of 
hard  work  and  fairly  revelled  in  it ;  he  dug  and  planted,  raked 
and  hoed  as  if  his  life  depended  upon  the  labors  of  his  own  hands. 
Like  everything  else  which  he  had  to  do  with,  he  exacted  from  it 
cent  for  cent.  It  was  no  modern  fancy  farming,  in  which  every- 
thing went  in  and  nothing  came  out.  He  put  into  farming  the 
same  far-sightedness  and  intelligence  which  made  him  successful 
in  anything  which  he  undertook.  And  this  is  the  secret  of  his 
success:  he  became  a  thorough  master  of  the  business  in  which  he 
engaged.  He  was  familiar  with  every  detail ;  nothing  happened 
4i 


642  STEPHEN     GIRARD. 

by  chance ;  relying  on  his  own  judgment,  aided  by  unusual  powers 
of  observation,  rendered  him  cool,  self-reliant,  fearless.  He  ex- 
acted the  most  perfect  obedience  from  those  whom  he  employed  ; 
he  was  a  veritable  Shylock  where  business  was  at  stake. 

Meanwhile  he  established  Girard's  Bank,  prior  to  the  expira- 
tion of  the  charter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  which  Con- 
gress failed  to  renew,  and,  backed  by  his  millions,  he  was  able  to 
compete  with  the  National  treasury  itself.  He  became  the  first 
banker  in  the  United  States,  and  by  means  of  his  wealth  was  able 
to  sustain  the  public  credit  and  preserve  the  currency.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  old  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  transferred  to  his 
bank,  and  with  a  capital  of  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  the  funds  of  the  old  bank,  amounting  to  not  less  than 
five  millions  of  specie,  he  commenced  business  under  cheering 
auspices,  and  was  the  one  prosperous  man  in  a  nation  of  people 
injured  by  the  non-renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  National  bank. 
He  bought  the  banking-house  and  the  cashier's  house  at  less 
than  one-third  their  cost,  paying  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
dollars  for  them,  and  from  the  day  of  its  establishment  he  assisted 
the  country  by  enabling  the  government  to  re-arrange  its  fiscal 
affairs,  and  to  its  frequent  demands  for  his  services  immediately 
following  the  suspension. of  specie  payments.  The  integrity  of 
the  man  was  shown  at  this  time  of  panic;  he  lost  the  advantages 
that  would  have  accrued  from  another  source,  but  his  bank  never 
refused  to  pay  the  specie  for  a  note  of  his. 

Previous  to  this  time  he  was  elected  to  represent  his  fellow 
citizens  in  the  Councils  of  Philadelphia,  and  he  was  at  the  time 
and  subsequently  a  director  of  many  public  institutions.  He  gave 
his  time  to  whatever  was  worthy  the  gift,  and  time  was  money  to 
him,  and  these  occupations  were  the  only  relaxation  he  had.  The 
begging  letters  sent  him,  the  many  calls  at  his  door  for  alms, 
were,  as  a  rule,  ignored.  He  had  no  patience  with  idleness  and 
indolence,  and  his  wealth  brought  him  the  sore  trial  of  sycophants. 

His  fortune  was  a  large  one  for  his  day ;  he  died  worth  $7,500,- 


STEPHEN     GIRARD.  643 

ooo,  but  it  is  not  a  large  one  as  fortunes  are  now  measured. 
Nearly  all  his  property  was  bequeathed  to  the  public.  To  Penn- 
sylvania he  gave  $300,000 ;  to  Philadelphia  for  local  improve- 
ments, $500,000 ;  for  the  different  institutions  of  charity  in  and  about 
v  Philadelphia,  $i  1 6,000 ;  and  for  the  erection  and  endowment  of 
(his  college  he  gave  $6,000,000.  His  relatives  and  next  of  kin 
received  $140,000;  and  he  left  annuities  to  persons  in  his  employ; 
to  his  servants  and  to  those  of  his  captains  who  would  bring  his 
vessels  safely  into  port.  He  also  gave  to  the  cities  of  New  Or- 
leans and  Philadelphia  280,000  acres  of  land  situated  in  Louisiana  ; 
but  this  land  was  subsequently  lost  to  the  legatees  by  a  decision 
of  the  Supreme  Court. 

"  Contemplating  the  humility  of  his  origin,  and  contrasting  there- 
with the  variety  and  extent  of  his  works  and  wealth,  the  mind  is 
filled  with  admiration  of  the  man,  and  profoundly  impressed  with 
the  value  of  his  example."  "  His  person,  his  home,  and  his  habits 
evinced  the  love  of  what  was  simple,  and  he  was  a  devoted  friend 
to  those  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  which  are  the  basis 
of  the  political  fabric  of  his  adopted  country."  The  noblest  act 
of  his  life  was  his  thoughtfulness  in  giving  to  children  a  part  of 
his  wealth.  It  is  this  act  that  makes  his  name  a  living  one  among 
his  fellow-countrymen  to-day.  Long  years  ago  his  body  crumbled 
back  to  dust,  but  not  while  that  magnificent  college  stands,  or 
the  thousands  of  lads  who  have  enjoyed  its  benefits  live,  will 
he  be  forgotten.  To  go  over  its  grand  dimensions  and  see  the 
orphans  and  half-orp"hans  who  are  there  learning  to  build  their 
lives  better  than  he  was  taught  to  direct  his,  is  an  inspiring  sight. 
There  are  few  more  so  in  America.  He  never  forgot  his  child- 
hood or  the  sufferings  he  endured  as  a  homeless  boy,  and  he  has 
made  it  possible  for  thousands  upon  thousands  of  lads  to  say, 
"  We  owe  our  education  and  our  start  in  life  to  him  who  was  once 
like  us,  '  a  poor  boy.' " 


PETER  McGEOCH. 

IN  the  month  of  June,  1883,  the  cities  of  Chicago,  Milwaukee, 
Cincinnati,  and  even  New  York  experienced  a  brief  period  of  un- 
wonted excitement,  when  it  was  reported  that  the  great  "lard 
king,  Peter  McGeoch,"  of  the  firm  of  "  McGeoch,  Everingham  & 
Co.,"  had  failed,  with  liabilities  of  over  $6,000,000.  If  Mr. 
McGeoch  was  a  man  whom  any  financial  misfortune  could  deprive 
of  spirit  and  energy,  we  might  properly  leave  him  out  of  this  vol- 
ume ;  but  though  temporarily  overwhelmed,  if  he  lives,  it  is  rea- 
sonably certain  that  he  will  reappear  on  Change  and  rebuild  his 
fortunes,  perhaps  higher  than  before.  He  is, of  the  irrepressible 
kind.  He  is  of  Scotch  birth,  being  a  native  of  Dumfrieshire,  where 
he  entered  this  breathing  world  in  the  month  of  May,  1833.  He 
first  appeared  in  financial  circles  in  the  West  about  1856-57.  He 
was  then  in  Milwaukee  in  the  grain  trade,  but  afterwards  took  up 
the  pork-packing  business.  In  1876  he  was  a  participator  in  the 
famous  "  Lindbloom  deal "  in  wheat,  and  was  a  heavy  loser ;  but 
in '78  he  engineered  the  successful  "July  corner,"  by  which  he 
made  enormous  profits.  He  was  a  very  bold  speculator,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  in  several  other  deals,  out  of  all  of  which 
he  emerged  with  victory  on  his  side. 

Mr.  McGeoch  was  at  one  time  known  in  Wisconsin  as  the 
"  Milwaukee  Milkman."  It  seems  he  had'  been  partly  raised  on  a 
farm,  which  his  father  owned  at  Waterloo  in  that  State,  and  there 
learned  something  about  the  care  of  cattle ;  but  Peter  did  not  see 
any  money  in  that  kind  of  life,  and  he  started  out  for  himself,  tak- 
ing a  contract  for  hauling  stone  for  the  building  of  the  State  capi- 
tol  at  Madison.  It  was  while  thus  employed  that  he  became 
acquainted  with  one  Van  Kirk,  with  whom  he  formed  a  partner- 
(644) 


PETER   M'GEOCH.  645 

ship  to  buy  and  ship  wheat  from  Fox  Lake  to  Milwaukee,  Van 
Kirk  to  remain  at  the  latter  city,  and  Mr.  McGeoch  to  make  his 
headquarters  at  the  lake  ;  this  was  about  1858.  This  partnership 
continued  about  fourteen  years,  during  which  period  the  firm  was 
exceedingly  successful,  both  partners  making  large  fortunes  ;  when, 
becoming  bolder,  they  planned  a  corner  in  wheat,  which  proved 
utterly  disastrous ;  the  accumulation  of  years  was  swept  away,  and 
at  the  end  of  1872  both  were  poor  men  again;  Van  Kirk  retired 
from  the  struggle  disheartened;  but  McGeoch  fell  on  his  feet, 
picked  himself  up,  and  started  once  more  in  the  race,  finally  re- 
gaining a  business  footing.  The  partnership  of  Van  Kirk  and 
McGeoch  had  not  been  limited  to  dealings  in  grain  :  they  did  a 
general  commission  business,  had  a  large  pork-packing  establish- 
ment, and  McGeoch  had  besides  several  farms  on  which  he  kept 
fancy  stock.  When  the  firm  went  under,  a  fellow-countryman  of 
McGeoch,  a  banker,  named  Alexander  Mitchell,  came  to  his  assist- 
ance to  the  amount  altogether  of  $100,000.  It  was  while  he  was 
endeavoring  to  recover  himself,  after  his  failure  in  1872,  from 
which  he  had  saved  nothing  except  his  farms,  that  he  started  an 
extensive  milk  business,  running  his  wagons  into  Milwaukee;  it 
was  at  this  period  that  he  obtained  the  sobriquet  of  the  "  Milwau- 
kee Milkman." 

Through  the  generous  aid  of  Alexander  Mitchell,  Mr.  McGeoch 
had  so  far  recovered  himself,  that  by  1875  he  had  paid  off  all  his 
old  debts,  and  his  profits  were  rolling  up  into  very  large  figures. 
It  was  not  until  1880  that  the  firm  of  "  McGeoch,  Everingham  & 
Co."  established  themselves  in  Chicago ;  and  so  large  were  the 
operations  of  the  senior  partner  that  to  a  great  extent  he  con- 
trolled the  market,  and  so  persuaded  was  he  that  he  could  con- 
tinue to  do  so,  under  all  circumstances,  that  over  self-confidence 
finally  led  him  to  engage  in  the  "lard  corner"  of  1883,  which 
brought  on  his  last  failure. 

When,  on  the  i6th  of  June,  it  was  whispered  on  Change  that 
Peter  McGeoch  was  not  putting  up  his  margins,  it  was  at  first  re- 


646  PETER   M'GEOCH. 

oarded  as  a  canard ;  but  when  large  sales  began  to  be  made  "  on 
account  of  whom  it  may  concern,"  it  was  realized  that  the  rumor 
was  true — that  the  king  of  the  "  lard  corner  "  had  failed.  The  ex- 
planation was  this :  in  buying  for  future  delivery  he  had  believed 
he  could  control  the  market ;  and  when  the  lard  that  he  had  been 
four  months  accumulating  for  delivery  in  July,  and  which  he  be- 
lieved was  going  to  rise  in  price,  instead  of  rising,  when  offered 
for  sale  in  June,  began  to  drop,  for  the  reason  that  there  was  no 
real  scarcity,  it  was  all  over  with  him.  On  the  i5th  of  June,  1883, 
"July  lard"  was  sold  at  $11.17^  ;  on  the  i6th  it  fell  to  $10.65; 
then  dropped  to  $9.05,  and  at  last  to  $8.90 ;  and  over  300,000 
tierces  were  sold  on  the  account  of  McGeoch.  The  excitement 
was  intense,  and  the  panic  may  be  partly  imagined,  when  sales 
were  made  at  the  same  time,  within  speaking  distance  of  each 
other,  with  a  difference  of  twenty  or  thirty  cents  for  the  same  qual- 
ity of  goods;  buyers  and  sellers  lost  their  heads  together.  It 
seems  that  McGeoch's  friend,  Alexander  Mitchell,  the  Milwaukee 
banker,  had  not  approved  of  this  "  lard  corner,"  and  when  Mc- 
Geoch found  himself  going  down,  Mitchell,  on  whom  he  had  relied, 
refused  his  help.  He  had  forewarned  McGeoch  that  the  specula- 
tion was  too  vast.  The  depreciation  on  the  300,000  tierces  sold 
for  the  lard  king  on  the  i6th  of  June  was  over  $1,000,000.  But 
this  was  not  the  limit  of  his  losses,  only  one  item  among  many ; 
the  accommodation  which  he  asked  from  Mitchell  and  failed  to  get 
was  $5,000,000.  The  effect  of  the  failure  in  New  York  was  very 
marked :  at  one  time,  within  eight  minutes,  the  price  of  lard  fell  % 
of  a  cent  in  three  quotations,  an  unprecedented  fluctuation  in  that 
article.  Colonel  C.  H.  Smith,  a  dealer  of  twenty  years  standing, 
said  that  it  was  "  the  worst  break  he  had  ever  seen." 

It  was  reported  at  the  time  that  "  Uncle  Peter  "  had  saved  abso- 
lutely nothing,  that  even  his  wife's  interests  had  been  sacrificed— 
voluntarily  on  her  part— to  raise  money  to  pay  his  indebtedness. 
The  feeling  of  the  street  it  must  be  admitted  was  not  very  sympa- 
thetic ;  Mr.  McGeoch  had  spared  no  one  in  his  speculations,  and 


PKTKR    M'GEOCH.  647 

though  always  ready  to  assist  a  friend,  in  the  matter  of  trade  he 
used  all  the  advantages  which  the  rules  of  the  exchange  allowed. 
Over-scrupulousness  was  not  his  fault ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  he 
was  square  and  honest  in  his  dealings  on  the  street,  but  his 
superior  sharpness  was  their  misfortune ;  he  was  not  inclined  to 
moderate  his  own  financial  skill  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the 
weaker  sort.  It  was  in  a  measure  his  great  reputation  for  shrewd- 
ness that  led  to  his  downfall.  He  felt  that  he  had  this  reputation 
to  maintain,  and  that  the  very  boldness  of  his  deal  would  tide  him 
ovqr  any  ordinary  break  in  the  market,  though  for  some  time  pre- 
vious drafts  had  been  coming  in  at  the  rate  of  $150,000  a  day. 
Thus  the  catastrophe  had  its  preliminary  warnings ;  only  a  week 
before  the  failure,  $850,000  of  the  firm  had  been  swallowed  up  in 
margins  for  settlement  with  banks  outside  of  Chicago.  Another 
item  in  the  history  of  this  great  failure  is  the  claim  McGeoch 
makes  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  ruin  him  ;  but  the  facts  ap- 
pear to  be  simply  these  :  There  is  in  Chicago,  among  other  agents 
of  English  houses,  a  firm  of  very  large  dealers  known  as  the 
"Fowler  Brothers,"  from  whom  McGeoch  had  bought  very  largely, 
but  who  had  declined  his  offer  to  go  into  this  last  deal  with  him ; 
but  when  Mr.  McGeoch  found  himself  overloaded,  he  at  the  same 
time  believed  that  he  had  also  discovered  that  the  Fowlers  were 
adulterating  their  "prime  steam  lard."  He  made  this  charge  pub- 
licly ;  they  resented  it,  and  used,  as  he  says,  "  all  their  influence  to 
injure  his  credit,"  and  to  prevent  his  obtaining  the  usual  bank 
facilities ;  it  is  certain  that  the  Bank  of  Montreal,  in  which  they 
had  influence,  called  upon  him  unexpectedly  to  "take  up  his  lard," 
which  meant  that  he  must  immediately  pay  the  money  which  he 
had  borrowed  on  125,000  tierces  of  lard. 

With  his  personal  friends  Mr.  McGeoch  rates  high  as  a  man  of 
honor.  One  of  the  leading  operators  on  Change  said  of  him 
the  day  after  the  failure:  "I  do  not  believe  that  Peter  McGeoch 
has  against  his  record  a  single  act  of  unfairness  ;  and  whatever 
he  has  done,  or  attempted  to  do  in  his  business,  he  never  stepped 


648  PETER   M'GEOCH. 

beyond  what  he  believed  to  be  its  legitimate  bounds."  He  was 
not  a  man  to  make  acquaintance  readily  with  every  new-comer, 
but  is  a  true,  firm,  and  reliable  friend.  Mr.  McGeoch,  though  in 
business  in  Chicago,  lived  in  the  suburbs  of  Milwaukee,  about 
four  miles  out  of  the  city,  in  a  house  built  about  two  years 
ago.  It  is  situated  on  rising  ground,  commanding  a  fine  view, 
and  is  nearly  opposite  the  Soldiers'  Home.  There  is  a  large 
stretch  of  land  surrounding  it,  which  includes  a  fine  grove  and  a 
lake.  His  stable  contained  some  very  valuable  stock.  His  family- 
consists  of  a  wife,  three  daughters  and  a  young  son,  now  about 
fifteen.  His  wife  and  daughters  are  brave  women  ;  though  accus- 
tomed to  every  luxury,  they  were  prepared  to  give  up  everything 
— their  horses,  carriages,  and  servants — the  daughters  assuring 
their  father  that  they  could  work  and  earn  their  own  living.  Mr. 
McGeoch  had  been  very  liberal  with  his  money,  not  only  to  his 
relatives  but  to  others.  He  built  a  house  at  Toma,  which  he 
gave  to  his  aged  parents  and  a  crippled  sister.  He  has  helped 
his  younger  brothers — for  one  of  them  he  stocked  a  ranch  in 
Kansas.  The  cashier  of  the  Mitchell  Bank,  when  asked  what 
effect  the  failure  would  have  on  Milwaukee,  replied:  "I  don't 
know  that  it  will  have  any  decided  effect,  but  Mr.  McGeoch  has 
been  a  good  man  for  the  city,  spending  his  money  liberally  in 
ways  to  benefit  the  public,  and  therefore,  of  course,  we  feel  for 
him  in  this  disaster." 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  McGeoch  very  much  resembled 
the  late  President  Garfield ;  he  had  a  straight,  commanding 
figure,  high  forehead  and  penetrating  eyes,  and  wore  his  hair 
and  beard,  which  were  of  the  same  color  as  Garfield's,  cut  and 
dressed  in  the  same  style  as  that  of  the  Ohio  martyr.  The 
great  lard  speculator  had  expressed  his  intention  of  retiring  from 
business  the  present  year.  The  latest  accounts  from  Chicago, 
up  to  the  present  writing,  state  that  the  creditors  were  prepared 
to  compromise  on  a  basis  of  fifty  per  cent.  It  is  understood  that 
Mr.  McGeoch  will  devote  his  attention  for  the  present  to  the 


PETER   M'GEOCH.  649 

Milwaukee  street  railroad  line,  in  which,  as  the  projector,  he  is 
naturally  much  interested.  The  stock  of  this  road  was  depos- 
ited in  Mitchell's  Bank  as  collateral  for  borrowed  money,  but 
the  bank  having  taken  no  steps  to  secure  the  title,  and  wishing 
to  deal  handsomely  by  McGeoch  in  his  trouble,  will  allow  him  to 
redeem  the  stock  from  the  future  earnings  of  the  road;  this 
property  is  very  valuable,  and  will  form  a  sound  basis  on  which 
the  bold  speculator  may  once  more  hope  to  rise  to  affluence.  A 
short  time  after  the  failure  he  said  to  a  friend :  "  I  am  now 
about  as  poor  as  a  man  can  be.  If  my  best  friend  were  in  need 
I  don't  think  I  could  raise  $500  for  him,  but  I  am  not  dead  by 
any  means,  and  as  soon  as  a  full  settlement  is  made,  I  shall  go  to 
work  again." 


EX-GOVERNOR  JOSEPH   E.  BROWN. 

JOSEPH  E.  BROWN,  long  a  resident  of  Georgia,  but  a  native  of 
South  Carolina,  is  a  type  of  character  very  little  known,  and  less 
understood  out  of  his  own  region  of  country,  than  almost  any 
class  of  persons  we  have  had  occasion  to  deal  with  in  these  pages. 
To  large  numbers  of  Northern  people  the  South  is  divided  into 
three  classes :  the  aristocratic,  late  slave-holding  class,  and  "  poor 
whites,"  and  the  negroes ;  this  general  classification  might  at  some 
time  have  been  true  of  limited  sections  of  the  country,  but  in  the 
immense  region  stretching  from  the  Atlantic  to  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Gulf,  there  have  always  been 
more  or  less  Southerners  who,  while  not  rich,  should  never  be 
classed  with  the  "  poor  whites,"  as  that  phrase  is  usually  under- 
stood ;  for  the  class  we  refer  to  are  self-helpful,  enterprising  and 
industrious,  and  may  be  depended  upon  to  rise  above  their  early 
beginnings,  and  many  of  them  through  trade  and  commerce,  or  the 
professions,  have  gained,  not  only  positions  of0  affluence,  but  of 
political  and  social  eminence.  Mr.  Brown  had  few  advantages  in 
early  life,  and  no  hereditary  wealth  to  rely  upon,  but  he  was  ambi- 
tious in  his  youth,  and  managed  to  get  a  fair  education  in  his 
native  State,  spending  at  least  two  years  in  advanced  studies  at  an 
academy.  His  aim  was  to  become  a  lawyer,  but  he  must  first  earn 
the  means  to  enter  upon  that  study.  After  leaving  the  academy 
he  removed  to  Georgia,  and  for  several  years  taught  school  in  the 
northwestern  counties  of  that  State,  utilizing  all  his  leisure  time  in 
the  perusal  of  law  books,  and  for  some  months  was  nominally  in  a 
law-office ;  as  it  was  necessary  to  have  had  instruction,  either  in 
college  or  in  a  private  office,  before  applying  for  admission  to  the 
bar,  to  which  he  was  admitted  in  his  twenty-fourth  year 
(650) 


EX-GOVERNOR     JOSEPH     E.    I5KOWN.  65! 

Though  Mr.  Brown  had  easily  passed  the  local  examination,  he 
was  well  aware  that  his  legal  education  was  deficient,  and  he 
applied  the  first  substantial  fruits  of  his  practice  to  pay  for  his  tui- 
tion at  the  Law  School  at  Yale  College,  in  Connecticut.  Thus, 
having  tested  his  knowledge  among  his  peers,  and  followed  the 
lectures  there  with  diligence,  he  returned  to  the  State  of  his  adop- 
tion, Georgia,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law  in  good  earn- 
est. He  was  very  successful,  and  naturally  gained  influence,  not 
only  among  his  clientage,  but  with  the  politicians  of  his  county  and 
Congressional  district.  When  only  twenty-seven  (in  1849)  he 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  three  years  later  was  one  of 
the  Electors  who  nominated  Franklin  Pierce  to  the  Presidency. 
In  his  profession  his  rise  was  equally  rapid,  being  appointed  Judge 
of  the  Circuit  Court  in  1855,  an<^  many  are  the  legends  in  that 
mountain  district,  where  he  presided,  of  "  old  Judge  Brown's " 
rulings;  though  he  was  comparatively  a  young  man,  the  word 
"  old  "  seems  a  favorite  prefix  for  any  one  in  official  station  there. 

Judge  Brown  was  a  Democrat  of  the  most  pronounced  school, 
a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  State  Rights,  as  interpreted  by 
the  most  rigid  constructionists,  and  as  such  was  elected  Governor 
of  Georgia  in  1856,  a  period  when  the  anti-slavery  furore  was  at 
its  height  in  the  North,  and  when  the  South  felt  that  all  its  mate- 
rial interests  were  being  sacrificed  under  the  pressure  of  a  moral 
fanaticism  which  they  could  not  understand.  When  the  great  con- 
flict came,  the  "irrepressible  conflict,"  Governor  Brown  naturally 
stood  by  his  old  doctrine  of  State  Rights,  and,  believing  those 
rights  to  be  endangered,  he  took  his  stand  with  the  advocates  of 
Secession,  and  on  that  platform  was  elected  governor  in  1861,  and 
again  in  1863.  He  was  always  spoken  of  in  the  South  as  "the 
War  Governor"  of  Georgia,  and  as  such,  during  the  war,  his  fame 
outreached  the  local  boundaries  of  the  State  and  became  national. 

During  the  continuance  of  the  war  Governor  Brown  applied  all 
his  energies,  and,  so  far  as  he  could,  the  resources  of  the  State  to 
the  support  of  the  Confederate  government ;  there  was  never  any 


6.52  EX-GOVERNOR    JOSEPH     E.    BROWN, 

doubt  where  he  stood,  for  he  was  never  a  man  of  half  measures 
or  timid  counsels.  So  he  was  equally  decisive  when  peace  was 
declared.  Then  he  took  his  stand  with  the  dominant  party :  he 
saw,  with  his  clear  vision,  that  all  the  old  order  of  things  had 
passed  away  forever)  and  that  all  who  would  not  be  submerged  in 
the  revolution  and  the  overthrow  of  political  parties  must  be  pre- 
pared to  swim  with  the  tide ;  opposition,  he  realized,  would  be  as 
useless  as  senseless;  he  therefore,  during  the  reconstruction 
period,  came  out  boldly  as  a  Republican.  It  was  soon  after  this 
change  of  base  that  he  met  with  the  only  defeat  of  his  life  in  the 
domain  of  politics.  In  1868  he  aspired  to  serve  his  State  at 
Washington  as  United  States  Senator;  the  election  fell  in  the 
Legislature  of  Georgia,  and  he  was  defeated,  the  successful  candi- 
date being  Joshua  Hill ;  before  the  people  he  always  carried  the 
"  Joseph  E.  Brown  "  flag  to  victory. 

Mr.  Brown's  disappointment  at  losing  the  Senatorship  was  soon 
obliterated  in  the  new  judicial  honor  awaiting  him  ;  he  was  shortly 
thereafter  appointed  by  Governor  Bullock  Chief-Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Georgia,  a  position  which  he  filled  to  his  own 
honor  and  that  of  the  State  until  the  latter  end  of  1870,  when  he 
resigned  for  business  reasons.  Judge  Brown  had  been  a  large 
investor  in  iron  and  coal  mines,  and  the  development  of  these, 
their  productiveness  and  profit,  turned  largely  upon  the  facilities 
offered  of  getting  the  ore  and  mineral  to  a  market,  the  vicinity  to 
a  railroad  station  being  the  turning-point  in  values  in  all  mining 
countries.  About  this  time  he  was  invited  to  take  the  Presidency 
of  the  Western  Atlantic  Railroad  Company,  in  which  he  was  a 
large  bond-holder,  and  he  resigned  his  judgeship  in  order  to 
accept  it,  and  thus  put  himself  in  a  position  to  benefit  his  mining 
interests. 

As  Judge  Brown's  connection  with  the  Republicans  was  a  mat- 
ter of  State  policy  and  not  true  affiliation,  it  is  what  might  be  ex- 
pected that,  under  favoring  circumstances,  we  should  find  him 
returning  to  the  party  of  his  convictions.  Hence,  in  1872,  he  was 


EX-GOVERNOR     JOSEPH     E.     BROWN.  653 

nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  in  the  Legislature  and  ap- 
pointed to  the  United  States  Senate  as  successor  to  General  Gor- 
don, who  had  resigned.  At  the  close  of  the  term  he  was  re-elected 
to  his  seat  over  a  very  popular  candidate,  General  A.  R.  Lawton  ; 
and  was  again  elected,  his  own  successor,  for  the  term  ending  in 
1885.  ••  ' 

Considering  the  number  and  importance  of  the  professional  and 
political  offices  filled  by  Mr.  Brown,  one  would  think  his  time 
would  be  amply  filled  by  official  duties;  we  find,  however,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  that  he  was  more  of  a  business  man  than  he  was 
a  jurist  or  a  statesman.  He  has  always  been  in  business  of  some 
kind,  and  always  of  the  paying  sort.  He  probably  took  in  the 
situation  of  the  altered  condition  of  the  South  more  radically  and 
completely  than  any  man  there  who  had  been  so  pronounced  a 
Southern  partisan.  One  thing  which  helped  him  to  this  was  the 
youthful  buoyancy  of  his  spirits;  he  had  not  suffered  from  the  war 
in  person  or  estate  as  many  others ;  his  money  was  not  invested 
in  cotton  plantations,  which  might  have  been  confiscated,  or  in 
slaves,  which  became  "  contraband  of  war."  He  saw  a  grand 
future  opening  out  for  the  South  under  the  new  order  of  things, 
and  was  able  to  bury  his  prejudices,  that  he  might  make  the  most 
of  them.  He  saw  his  own  State  of  Georgia — a  State  that  can 
grow  a  million  bales  of  cotton  annually — exporting  that  cotton  to 
Northern  States  to  be  woven  into  textile  fabrics,  and  he  concluded 
that  it  was  time  to  stop  that  wasteful  process ;  he  advocated  the 
building  of  cotton-mills,  and  he  has  lived  to  see  fifty  of  these  struc- 
tures erected  and  operated  in  Georgia,  and  paying  from  eight  to 
ten  per  cent,  dividends.  Georgia  is  a  well-watered  country,  with 
numerous  waterfalls,  and  many  of  these  mills  are  run  by  that  inex- 
pensive motive  power;  while  lumber  and  grist-mills  have  grown 
in  equal  proportion.  Everything  which  would  help  the  material 
interests  of  the  State  was  sure  of  his  aid.  He  was  an  active  pro- 
jector and  became  the  official  head  of  the  recent  Cotton  Exposi- 
tion at  Atlanta. 


654  EX-GOVERNOR    JOSEPH     E.    BROWN. 

The  project  of  the  Cotton  Exposition,  as  conceived  by  him,  was 
not  only  for  the  benefit  of  his  own  State,  but  with  the  larger  view 
of  putting  the  whole  South  in  its  new  and  improved  attitude  before 
the  people  of  all  sections  of  the  Union.  Believing  that  there  was 
much  ignorance  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  late  slave  States, 
Mr.  Brown  thought  at  least  to  convince  his  fellow-citizens  of  the 
North  that  there  was  a  new  spirit  of  energy  developing  among  his 
people,  but  little  understood  by  those  who  had  not  travelled 
through  the  country.  And  he  was  right.  Right,  too,  in  his  judg- 
ment that  the  Atlanta  Exposition  would  do  something  to  dispel 
the  ignorance  and  prejudice  which  still  brooded  over  this  fair  por- 
tion of  the  national  territory.  Among  other  objects  of  interest  at 
Atlanta  there  was  given  a  condensed  statement  of  the  productions 
of  the  various  Southern  States,  and  when  Governor  Brown  saw 
business  men  of  the  North  poring  over  such  items  (a  few  of  which 
we  shall  give),  he  felt,  as  a  citizen  of  the  crushed  Confederacy, 
proud  of  his  section,  which  had  rallied  so  wonderfully  from  the 
devastating  footsteps  of  a  four  years'  war.  Among  these  inter- 
esting statistics,  we  note  that  Virginia  comes  to  the  front  with  a 
State  steamship  line  direct  to  Europe;  foreign  capitalists  have  also 
invested  millions  of  dollars  in  her  iron  and  coal  mines ;  thousands 
of  acres  have  been  put  under  cultivation,  which  have  increased 
certain  crops  eightfold;  she  has  thirty-five  lines  of  railroads  within 
her  boundaries ;  she  has  a  dozen  cotton  factories,  and  a  hundred 
and  fifty  tobacco  factories,  with  an  increase  of  population  of 
300,000  in  the  last  ten  years.  Georgia  has  three  thousand  miles 
of  railroad;  her  factories  are  the  most  numerous  of  any  single 
State  in  the  South;  population  nearly  400,000  greater  in  1880 
than  in  1870.  Alabama  has  a  large  number  of  cotton-mills,  paying 
excellent  dividends,  as  do  also  her  cotton-seed  oil-mills.  He'r 
iron  mines  have  been  developed  to  the  extent  of  creating  several 
good-sized  cities;  one  of  these  new  cities  has  a  population  of 
12,000;  the  output  of  her  coal-fields  amounts  to  a  million  and  a 
quarter  tons  a  year;  the  produce  of  her  lumber-mills  is  nearly 


EX-GOVERNOR    JOSEPH    E.     BROWN.  655 

nineteen  million  feet  per  annum.  South  Carolina  also  has  her 
cotton-mills,  and  has  created  a  new  industry  worth  millions  of  dol- 
lars, in  market-gardening,  supplying  the  great  cities  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  with  thousands  of  tons  of  fruits  and  vegetables. 
Phosphate  factories  stud  her  river-banks,  and  her  State  debt  is 
being  rapidly  reduced.  In  Tennessee  the  great  staple  of  whiskey 
has  been  cultivated  with  such  energy  that  production  has  had  to 
be  suspended;  in  the  year  1881-2  64,000,000  gallons  were  dis- 
tilled, since  which  an  agreement  has  been  made  by  the  leading 
distillers  to  keep  the  production  down  to  12,000,000  gallons  per 
annum.  In  Mississippi  there  has  been  spent  the  last  few  years 
$20,000,000  in  the  construction  of  railroads.  Texas  is  so  rich  as 
to  be  buying  up  and  retiring  her  bonds,  which  are  quoted  at  140; 
and  so  the  encouraging  record  reads,  and  it  is  to  just  such  men  as 
Governor  Brown  that  this  high  tide  of  prosperity  has  followed  the 
natural  depression  of  the  war.  In  his  addresses  to  his  fellow- 
citizens,  he  has  urged  upon  them  the  fact  that  the  future  of  Geor- 
gia and  the  whole  South  must  hereafter  depend  not  upon  this  crop 
or  that,  in  the  vague  general  way  in  which  they  formerly  put  their 
faith  in  "King  Cotton,"  but  in  the  individual  enterprise  and  energy 
of  the  citizens,  and  he  has  met  with  a  very  hearty  and  encouraging 
response.  He  also  advocates  the  instruction  of  the  blacks — 
"  since  the  franchise  has  been  forced  upon  them,"  he  says,  "  let 
them  be  fitted  to  exercise  it." 

Governor  Brown  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  which  the 
South  has  produced ;  it  has  been  very  rare  indeed  for  a  young 
man  with  no  social  connections  and  no  money  to  become  a  sex- 
tuple millionaire.  His  political  success  has  been  equally  remark- 
able ;  he  has  never  been  beaten  before  the  people,  his  only  defeat 
having  occurred  in  the  legislature.  Yet  he  was  not  a  man  con- 
stitutionally fitted  to  win  the  smiles  of  the  multitude ;  he  was 
originally  very  brusque,  sometimes  even  rough  in  manner;  and 
his  style  of  progress  was  by  main  force  of  intellect,  and  not  by 
finessing  or  flattering  the  prejudices  of  the  crowd :  he  is  a  man  of 


656  EX-GOVERNOR    JOSEPH     E.    BROWN. 

and  from  the  people,  and  in  no  sense  represents  the  old  slave- 
holding  aristocracy.  Another  peculiarity  is,  that  though  now  over 
sixty  years  of  age,  there  is  no  trace  of  antiquated  ideas  in  his  com- 
position; he  is  alive  to  every  improvement,  and  radical  innovations 
have  no  terrors  for  him.  Though  nearly  forty  years  of  age  when 
the  war  of  secession  broke  out,  he  manfully  cut  adrift  from  all  the 
clogs  and  hindrances  of  the  old  Southern  traditions  when  the  right 
time  came,  and  entered  upon  the  new  life  with  his  people,  as  if 
the  past  had  no  existence.  He  lives  for  the  present  and  the  next 
future. 

Since  Governor  Brown's  election  to  the  United  States  Senate, 
and  his  opportunity  to  mingle  with  people  from  different  sections 
of  the  country  has  been  enlarged,  it  has  been  observed  that  his 
naturally  aggressive  manner  has  considerably  toned  down,  and 
though  still  as  strong  a  partisan  as  ever,  he  can  listen  with  more 
patience  to  the  utterance  of  views  differing  from  his  own.  He 
has  made  many  enemies  in  his  past  life,  but  he  will  make  fewer  in 
the  future.  But  even  his  political  enemies  are  constrained  to 
wonder  at  and  admire  his  wonderful  success.  In  person  Senator 
Brown  is  tall  and  slim,  with  gray  hair  and  whiskers,  and  he  habit- 
ually uses  glasses  ;  but  though  on  the  wrong  side  of  sixty,  he  is 
as  ready  for  new  plans  and  enterprises  as  the  youngest  man  in 
Congress.  He  is  very  free  with  his  money,  and  responds  most 
readily  to  any  appeal  for  aid.  He  lately  gave  $50,000  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Georgia,  and  though  by  birth  belonging  to  the  old  order 
of  things,  is  in  reality  a  representative  man  of  "  the  coming 
Georgian."  He  is  the  richest  Southern  man  in  the  Senate.  The 
lowest  estimate  puts  his  income  at  $1,000  per  day,  and  there  are 
few  Southerners  yet  who  can  equal  that ;  but  he  is  still  in  the  way 
of  adding  to  his  $6,000,000,  and  it  is  impossible  to  foresee  how 
many  millions  he  may  yet  add  to  his  ample  fortune. 

Although  certainly  the  wealthiest  man  in  Atlanta,  and  probably 
in  Georgia,  no  one  who  passes  his  plain,  unpretentious  house  on 
Peach  Tree  street  would  ever  imagine  it  to  be  the  home,  of  a 


EX-GOVERNOR    JOSEPH     E.    BROWN*.  657 

millionaire ,  though  internally  supplied  with  ever)'  comfort,  there 
is  no  indication  of  extravagance  either  in  furnishing  or  attendance. 
He  has  no  special  hobbies,  lives  moderately,  and  seems  to  require 
no  recreations  or  journeys  "  for  his  health,"  as  is  so  much  the 
fashion  with  people  of  means.  There  is  no  pretence  or  sham 
about  him  ;  in  conversation  he  is  clear  and  logical,  and  brings  his  • 
sentences  down  with  a  sort  of  trip-hammer  force,  which  would 
utterly  discourage  a  weak  opponent.  The  greatest  lack  in  his 
composition  is  the  absence  of  the  element  of  humor;  you  may 
strike  the  hard  rock  of  his  common-sense  and  you  will  be  sure  to 
wake  a  solid,  sensible  reply,  but  never  a  spark  of  wit.  He  is  not 
given  to  story-telling,  nor  is  he  a  subject  of  them,  which  is  a  loss 
to  the  biographer  but  speaks  well  for  him.  Georgia  may  well  be 
proud  of  her  ex-Governor  and  present  Senator,  as  he  has  a  right 
to  be  proud  of  his  State. 

42 


BENJAMIN    BRANDRETH. 

IT  is  a  very  common  thing  for  even  intelligent  persons  to  con- 
demn all  vendors  of  patent  medicines  as  charlatans  and  unprin- 
cipled vampires,  who  coin  money  out  of  the  credulity  of  their 
victims ;  but  to  those  who  knew  personally  the  late  Dr.  Brandreth 
it  was  certain  that  no  such  suspicion  could  attach  to  him.  He  be- 
lieved in  his  own  remedy,  and  never  took  any  other !  His  family 
also  shared  his  good  opinion  of  the  "  Brandreth  pills."  Benjamin 
was  born  in  Leeds,  England,  January  23,  1809.  His  father  having 
died  a  few  months  before  his  birth,  he  was  brought  up  by  his 
grandfather,  Dr.  William  Brandreth,  from  whom  he  learned  the 
uses  and  compounding  of  drugs,  which  he  afterwards  turned  to 
such  profitable  account.  When  quite  young,  before  his  majority, 
he  married  a  Miss  Smallpage,  who  had  a  dowry  of  about  four 
hundred  pounds,  which  helped  the  young  couple  to  start  comfort- 
ably in  life,  but  that  was  all ;  and  Mr.  Brandreth,  as  his  family 
increased,  turned  his  eyes  towards  America  as  promising  a  better 
future  for  himself  and  for  them  than  the  land  of  his  birth  could 
offer  him.  So  he  brought  his  family  to  New  York,  some  six  years 
after  his  marriage,  and  took  apartments  in  Hudson  street,  where 
he  commenced  the  manufacture,  with  his  own  hands,  of  his  cele- 
brated pills. 

The  success  was  phenomenal :  in  his  little  shop  "  he  took  in  less 
than  two  years  $90,000  over  the  counter."  He  now  found  it 
necessary  to  establish  a  factory  on  a  large  scale,  and  selected  a 
site  near  Sing  Sing,  on  the  Hudson  ;  and  he  then  commenced  that 
series  of  sensational  advertisements  which  soon  made  his  pills 
known  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Of  course  he  was  annoyed, 
and  to  some  extent  injured,  by  the  numerous  counterfeits  of  his 
(658) 


BENJAMIN     BRANDRETH.  659 

pills  which  appeared,  but  he  attacked  these  very  vigorously  and 
succeeded  in  driving  them  from  the  market. 

In  1849  Dr.  Brandreth  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and 
again  in  1859,  and  to  those  inclined  to  sneer  at  "  patent  medicine 
men "  we  commend  the  following  fact  in  proof  of  Benjamin 
Brandreth's  high  sense  of  honor  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  senatorial 
duties.  On  one  occasion  he  was  the  only  Senator  who  voted 
against  a  bill  (which  was  very  generally  disapproved)  and  for  which 
he  had  been  tendered  $50,000  for  his  support  and  vote !  The 
newspapers  of  the  day  very  justly  styled  him,  in  large  type,  "The 
Bold  Brandreth." 

About  1848  Dr.  Brandreth  bought  out  all  of  Mr.  Alcock's  in- 
terest in  the  popular  "porous  plasters;"  this  was  not  an  immediate 
success,  the  ingredients  not  being  properly  mixed  to  insure  just 
the  right  consistency ;  but  after  some  few  experiments  the  right 
composition  was  effected,  and  these  became  a  great  source  of 
profit,  when  the  fashion  of  taking  pills  for  every  human  ill  began 
to  subside.  Miles  in  length  of  these  plasters  are  still  made 
weekly,  and  the  annual  profit  from  the  sales  is  not  less  than 
$100,000. 

Dr.  Brandreth  was  one  of  those  persons  who  used  his  money 
freely  in  dispensing  happiness  to  others;  he  was  not  only  charitable 
in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word,  but  took  a  real  pleasure 
in  helping  individuals  forward  in  life  who  had  not  his  talent  or 
opportunity  for  making  money,  particularly  young  men  who  needed 
a  start,  either  to  complete  their  studies  or  to  commence  business; 
and  his  later  years  were  often  cheered  by  news  from  his  former 
beneficiaries,  who  wrote,  perhaps  from  some  distant  State,  thank- 
ing him  for  the  early  help  which  had  enabled  them  to  obtain  posi- 
tions of  prominence  and  usefulness.  To  his  employes  he  was  a 
most  generous  and  thoughtful  master,  and  they  were  consequently 
much  attached  to  him,  and,  aside  from  his  immediate  family,  none 
deplored  his  loss  more  than  those  "  factory  hands,"  for  whom  he 
had  always  a  kind  word,  and  whose  trials  and  sorrows  he  sympa- 


66o  BENJAMIN     BRANDRETH. 

thized  with,  not  only  in  words,  but  in  solid  cash  if  the  case  called 
for  it.  He  was  a  man  of  some  culture,  too ;  very  fond  of  poetry, 
and  familiar  with  all  the  best  English  poets,  which  his  good 
memory  enabled  him  to  quote  in  the  most  apropos  manner. 

His  home  at  Sing  Sing,  New  York,  on  the  banks  of  the  Hud- 
son, is  one  of  the  notable  residences  of  that  place.  The  place  is 
a  beautiful  one,  with  handsome  and  extensive  grounds,  and  near 
by  are  residences  of  several  of  his  children.  He  identified  him- 
self with  the  town,  and  was  a  benefactor  to  it  in  many  ways.  As 
a  citizen  he  was  a  model,  and  his  death  was  a  calamity  to  the  peo- 
ple with  whom  he  had  so  long  identified  himself  in  all  good  works. 

Dr.  Brandreth  maintained  unusually  good  health  almost  up  to 
the  hour  of  his  death,  and  was  thus  in  his  own  person  an  excellent 
witness  to  the  value  of  his  own  wares.  He  died  very  suddenly, 
being  found  dead  on  the  floor  of  his  room  without  any  previous 
illness,  in  1879.  His  large  property,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
legacies,  went  to  his  family. 


ROBERT   L.    STUART. 

MR.  ROBERT  L.  STUART,  known  throughout  the  United  States  as 
one  of  the  most  extensive  sugar  refiners  in  the  country,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  Barclay  street,  July  2ist,  1806.  His 
father,  Mr.  Kinlock  Stuart,  was  a  manufacturer  of  candy  in  the 
city  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  who  came  to  New  York  in  1805.  and 
temporarily  located  in  Barclay  street.  He  removed  the  next  yeai 
to  the  corner  of  Chambers  and  Greenwich  streets,  where  he  com- 
menced anew  in  his  former  business  of  candy-making.  Into  this 
business  he  introduced  as  a  leading  principle,  that  he  would  use 
nothing  which  was  not  of  absolute  purity ;  and  on  this  the  success- 
ful growth  of  "Stuart's  candy"  business  was  based. 

Mr.  Kinlock  Stuart  became  a  rich  man,  according  to  the  esti- 
mate of  those  days,  leaving  at  his  death  in  January,  1826,  over 
$100,000.  Of  this  Robert  L.  received  $25,000;  his  younger 
brother  the  same ;  the  residue,  over  $50,000,  going  to  the  widow. 
Robert  L.  was  not  yet  of  age;  but  he  continued  to  conduct  his 
father's  business  alone  until  January  7th,  1828,  when  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  his  brother  for  refining  sugar,  as  well  as  manu- 
facturing candy,  under  the  firm-name  of  "R.  L.  &  A.  Stuart,"  a 
connection  which  endured  for  over  half  a  century.  Four  years 
later  they  introduced  a  great  novelty  into  the  business  of  sugar 
refining,  much  against  the  advice,  it  is  said,  of  experienced  sugar 
refiners;  this  was  nothing  less  than  the  use  of  steam.  This  proved 
a  success,  notwithstanding  the  evil  prognostications  of  such  men 
in  the  business  as  the  late  Mayor  W.  H.  Havemeyer.  At  this 
time  the  office  of  the  young  firm  was  located  in  Chambers  street 
(No.  169),  west  of  Broadway;  this  house  became  remarkable,  as 

the  first  dwelling-house  in  which  gas  was  used. 

(661) 


662  ,     ROBERT    L.    STUART. 

In  1835  *he  firm  built  a  large  five-story  factory  at  the  corner  of 
Greenwich  and  Chambers  streets,  which  was  supplemented  by  one 
of  nine  stories  some  years  later,  on  the  corner  of  Read  and  Green- 
wich streets.  The  use  of  steam  in  sugar  refining  was  still  some- 
thing to  be  wondered  at,  when,  in  1834,  Mr.  Stuart  exhibited  at 
the  American  Institute  Fair,  held  at  Niblo's  Garden,  some  samples 
of  sugar  made  by  the  new  process.  The  amount  of  sugar  pro- 
duced by  the  Stuarts  at  this  time  was  almost  twelve  thousand 
pounds  .daily,  all  that  the  trade  could  then  take.  It  was  in  every 
respect  equal  to  the  imported,  though  it  could  be  sold  for  nearly 
half  the  price  of  the  latter.  When  the  new  nine-story  building  was 
occupied  in  1849,  ^e  rate  °f  production  was  increased  to  the 
enormous  figure  of  44,000,000  pounds  annually.  The  main  build- 
ing was  connected  by  underground  passages  with  three  other  build- 
ings on  the  opposite  side  of  Read  street;  and  subsequently  other 
large  warehouses  were  built  adjoining  the  first  on  Chambers 
street,  the  latter  being  used  mainly  for  the  storage  of  refined  sugars. 

It  is  now  nearly  thirty  years  since  the  Stuarts  entirely  discon- 
tinued the  manufacture  of  candy;  since  1855  they  have  confined 
their  business  exclusively  to  the  refining  of  sugar;  employing 
between  three  and  four  hundred  men  ;  and  consuming  from  eight 
to  ten  thousand  tons  of  coal  annually. 

The  brothers  Stuart  were  old-fashioned  Presbyterians  ;  religion 
was  to  them  something  more  than  a  name :  they  carried  it  into 
their  business,  which  was  ever  conducted  with  the  strictest  regard 
to  honesty  and  justice,  and  they  maintained  the  reputation  their 
father  left  them  of  never  using  anything  but  the  purest  materials 
in  their  business.  One  peculiar  custom  which  we  suspect  has  few 
imitators  they  always  observed;  as  each  man  was  taken  into  their 
employment  he  was  presented  with  a  new  Bible— a  gentle  hint 
that  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  be  guided  by  its  principles;  but 
this  was  not  the  only  present  which  an  employe  received,  each 
and  all  being  remembered  by  some  suitable  gift  at  Christmas  or 
New  Year's. 


ROBERT    L.    STUART.  663 

There  were  never  any  strikes  among  the  workmen  employed 
by  the  Stuarts,  and  probably  no  firm  in  the  city  had  a  more  de- 
voted set  of  men. 

During  the  continuance  of  the  civil  war  the  Stuarts  gave  their 
influence  and  their  money  in  support  of  the  government;  and 
when  the  first  war  loan  was  called  for,  they  were  amongst  the 
most  liberal  subscribers  to  it. 

As  a  proof  of  the  large  business  conducted  by  this  firm,  a  violent 
storm  once  offered  curious  proof  by  making  public  the  fact,  that 
when  the  Atlantic  docks  were  unroofed  by  the  wind,  there  was  un- 
covered a  million  dollars  worth  of  sugar  belonging  to  the  Stuarts; 
and  for  quality,  none  in  the  country  surpassed,  or  perhaps  equalled 
theirs;  it  is  certain  that  the  brand  of  "R.  L.  &  A.  Stuart"  was  ac- 
cepted throughout  the  civilized  world  as  representing  exactly  what 
it  purported  to  be.  These  refiners  were  the  first  in  the  United 
States  to  introduce  the  cash  system  into  that  line  of  business,  in 
1861,  and  during  the  course  of  the  succeeding  eleven  years,  in 
which  their  sales  amounted  to  $36,000,000,  they  did  not  lose  a 
dollar  by  bad  debts;  no  paper  of  theirs  was  ever  protested,  nor 
did  they  ever  pay  more  than  the  legal  rate  of  interest  on  bor- 
rowed money.  After  having  worked  together  for  fifty  years  and 
accumulated  large  fortunes,  this  gigantic  business  was  voluntarily 
abandoned  by  the  Messrs.  Stuart,  the  refinery  was  closed,  the 
machinery  sold  and  the  buildings  leased  for  other  purposes,  in 
December,  1872.  The  younger  brother  Alexander  had  never 
married,  and  continued  to  live  in  his  original  bachelor  quarters  in 
Chambers  streets,  until  the  time  of  his  death  in  1879. 

Mr.  Robert  L.  Stuart  had  married  early  in  life  Miss  Mary, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Robert  Macrae,  one  of  the  wealthy  merchants 
of  old  New  York ;  of  this  marriage  there  was  no  issue.  At 
the  time  of  Mr.  Stuart's  retirement  from  business  he  was  in  his 
sixty-seventh  year,  and  thereafter  the  remainder  of  his  life  was 
devoted  to  deeds  of  charity  and  beneficence,  not  that  the 
former  part  of  his  life  had  been  devoid  of  them,  for  he  and  his 


66*  ROBERT   L.    STUART. 

brother  had  jointly  given  away  up  to  the  period  of  Alexander's 
death  the  sum  of  $1,391,000.  After  this  event  Robert  L.  con- 
tinued the  good  work,  assisted  and  encouraged  by  his  wife  alone. 
The  Stuarts  did  not,  during  the  latter  years  of  their  life,  make  the 
amount  of  their  donations  dependent  upon  the  amount  of  their 
annual  profits,  but  set  aside  regularly  a  specified  sum  to  be  spent 
in  charity  or  religious  work.  In  1852  $14,000  was  thus  set 
apart,  and,  later,  larger  sums.  He  was  President  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Hospital,  established  by  Mr.  Lennox,  and  both  he  and 
Alexander  were  very  large  contributors  to  it.  In  1880  Robert 
L.  gave  to  this  institution  $55,000  at  one  time,  and  within  the  same 
year  he  gave  $100,000  to  Princeton  College  and  $100,000  to  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  and  $50,000  to  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Theological  Seminary.  His  widow  subsequently  gave 
$150,000  additional  to  Princeton  College. 

Mr.  Stuart  was  for  some  years  President  of  the  Museum  of 
Natural  History  in  New  York,  and  before  his  last  visit  to  Europe 
he  presented  to  that  institution  the  famous  Dr.  Morgan  collection 
of  prehistoric  stone  implements,  for  which  he  had  paid  in  1877  the 
sum  of  $4,400.  This  collection  was  the  nucleus  of  the  valuable 
and  extensive  department  of  prehistoric  archaeology  now  open  to 
students  and  visitors  in  the  museum  on  Eighth  avenue  near 
Seventy-seventh  street.  Mr.  Stuart  resigned  his  presidency  of 
this  institution  in  1880.  He  was  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  He  also 
belonged  to  several  literary,  social  and  political  clubs ;  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Union  League  in  1861,  and  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Century  Club  and  others.  He  died  on  the  I2th 
of  December,  1882,  at  his  old  residence,  after  an  illness  of  three 
weeks ;  up  to  which  time  he  had  retained  an  active  interest  in  all 
the  objects  which  had  ever  given  flavor  to  his  own  life  or  which 
tended  to  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-men. 


WILLIAM   CRAMP   &   SONS. 

THE  immense  ship-building  concern  in  Philadelphia  was  founded 
by  the  late  William  Cramp  in  1830,  the  yards  lying  on  the  shore 
of  the  noble  Delaware  river — one  at  the  foot  of  Norris  street,  the 
other  at  the  foot  of  Palmer  street ;  and  at  the  Palmer  street  yard 
is  to  be  found  one  of  the  largest  basin  docks  in  the  country.  On 
account  of  the  large  ship-building  interests  concentrated  on  the 
Delaware  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  this  river  has  been  com- 
pared to  the  Scotch  stream  on  which  sits  the  manufacturing  city 
of  Glasgow;  but  the  comparison  is  fanciful:  indeed,  the  Delaware 
could  swallow  up  many  Clydes,  without  any  appreciable  addition 
to  its  volume ;  and  though  the  quantity  of  work  performed  on  the 
latter  tortuous  little  river  is  far  greater  in  extent  than  on  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware,  in  regard  to  quality  the  American  ship-builder 
has  nothing  to  lea/n  from  his  Scotch  rival. 

William  Cramp  had  done  much  good  work  for  thirty  years 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  secession,  but  it  was  at  this 
period  that  the  Philadelphia  firm  came  into  prominence  as  a 
builder  of  iron-armored  vessels  for  the  government,  the  navy- 
yards  being  unable  to  meet  the  sudden  demand ;  the  less  so, 
because  the  style  of  ships  for  naval  warfare  now  required  were 
of  an  entirely  different  sort  from  those  constructed  by  the  em- 
ployes of  the  United  States  previous  to  1860.  Cramp  &  Sons 
met  the  call  of  their  country  with  generous  promptitude,  putting 
aside  all  other  work  till  the  government  orders  were  filled.  The 
first  vessel  thus  built  was  the  steam-frigate  "New  Ironsides;"  then 
followed  the  monitors  "Yazoo"  and  "Tunis,"  the  screw-steam- 
ship "  Chattanooga,"  of  3,500  tons,  and  the  double-end  gun-boat 

"  Wyalusing." 

(665) 


666  WILLIAM     CRAMP     &     SONS. 

In  common  with  many  American  citizens,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  the  Philadelphians  deplored  the  disappearance  of  the 
American  flag  from  the  foreign  carrying  trade  ;  partly,  no  doubt, 
with  a  view  to  profit,  but  also  with  an  intense  desire  to  wipe  out 
this  burning  disgrace,  a  number  of  merchants  combined  to  form  a 
steamship  line,  to  ply  between  their  city  and  Europe.  In  this 
combination  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  became  a  large 
stockholder,  undoubtedly  reckoning  that  they  would  increase  their 
coal-freighting  business  when  the  line  was  in  operation.  It  was 
determined  to  build  four  first-class  vessels  fitted  for"  freight  and 
passenger  traffic,  and  the  firm  they  selected  to  build  them  was 
that  of  William  Cramp  &  Sons.  The  vessels  thus  built  were  the 
"  Pennsylvania,"  the  "  Ohio,"  the  "  Indiana,"  and  the  "  Illinois  ;  " 
when  the  contract  for  these  was  made  iron  was  low,  but  before  the 
ships  were  completed  it  had  risen  thirty  per  cent. ;  nevertheless 
there  was  no  attempt  to  draw  back,  or  to  make  better  terms;  true 
to  their  old-time  motto,  "  Time,  Honor,  Fidelity,"  the  vessels  were 
completed  in  the  best  possible  manner,  of  the  best  materials,  all 
of  which  was  of  American  production,  and  put  together  by  Amer- 
ican mechanics.  These  vessels  have  been  a  credit  to  their  owners 
and  builders ;  they  have  made  an  excellent  average  speed,  have 
done  a  good  freighting  business,  and  have  carried  nearly  100,000 
passengers,  for  whose  safety  and  comfort  equally  good  accommo- 
dations are  provided  as  on  the  European  lines.  Their  capacity  is 
nearly  4,000  tons. 

Among  the  important  vessels  built  by  this  firm  were  the  two 
large  steamers  intended  for  the  Pacific  coast,  named  the  "  State 
of  California  "  and  the  "  Columbus,"  but  which  were  bought  before 
completion  by  the  Russian  Government,  and  rebaptized  the 
"  Europe  "  and  the  "Asia  ;  "  these  vessels  have  two  peculiarities — 
one  is,  an  immense  spread  of  canvas,  and  the  other,  extremely 
capacious  coal-bunkers;  the  sail  area  of  the  "Europe"  is  13,390 
square  feet,  and  that  of  the  "Asia  "  1 2,902,  while  the  coal-carrying 
capacity  of  these  steamers  allows  of  twenty-four  days  consecutive 


-    .V  WILLIAM     CRAMP     &     SONS.  66/ 

steaming,  which  is  much  above  the  ordinary  average  of  European 
naval  vessels — many  of  the  English  cruisers  carrying  no  more 
than  six  days'  coal.  Other  vessels,  of  whatever  class,  are  con- 
structed by  this  firm  as  faithfully  as  are  the  largest.  At  the 
Palmer  street  yard  the  Messrs.  Cramp's  basin-dock  for  repairing 
vessels  is,  with  one  exception,  the  largest  in  the  country,  and  will 
take  in  a  vessel  450  feet  in  length  with  a  draft  of  twenty  feet.  In 
this  dock  are  four  centrifugal  pumps,  which  will  raise  30,000  gal- 
lons a  minute. 

The  Cramps,  beside  their  own  great  basin-dock,  now  control 
the  immense  Erie  basin,  at  South  Brooklyn  harbor,  of  New  York, 
the  largest  dry-dock  in  the  world.  The  strength  of  one  of  the 
vessels  built  for  Russia  by  Messrs.  Cramp,  the  "Zabiaca,"  was 
tested  in  the  English  Channel,  being  run  into  by  an  English  vessel, 
but  she  remained  uninjured,  and  gracefully  continued  on  her  way 
to  a  Russian  port,  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  and  a  half  knots  an  hour. 
This  firm  have  built  234  vessels  of  various  classes ;  some  of  the 
old-fashioned  wooden  kind — sailing-vessels,  clipper-ships,  iron- 
ships,  iron-screw  steam-colliers,  and  pleasure  steam-yachts.  The 
famous  "Atalanta,"  owned  by  Jay  Gould,  was  built  here,  and  now 
lies  in  her  winter  quarters  (November,  1883)  in  "Cramp  &  Sons'" 
yard.  This  dainty-looking  craft  tested  its  strength  shortly  after  it 
commenced  plying  between  Irvington  and  New  York,  by  running 
down  another  vessel  without  material  injury  to  herself.  The 
ordinary  working  force  of  this  great  establishment  is  2,000  men, 
but  in  case  of  need  3,000  can  work  in  these  spacious  yards  with- 
out overcrowding. 


AUGUST   BELMONT. 

THE  name  of  August  Belmont  naturally  brings  to  mind  the 
subject  of  banks  and  bankers,  a  class  of  men  who  have  done  far 
more  to  advance  the  interests  of  civilization  than  they  have  ever 
had  credit  for.  If  one  could  imagine  the  entire  obliteration  of  the 
modern  system  of  banking,  it  would  make  clear  to  the  mind  what 
a  vast  benefit  to  trade  and  commerce  has  been  the  invention  of 
bills  of  exchange,  and  the  general  modus  operandi  of  banking 
houses.  The  substitution  of  a  piece  of  paper  for  the  solid  metals 
has  revolutionized  the  commerce  of  the  world,  and  strangely 
enough,  this  great  benefit  originally  arose  out  of  the  needs  result- 
ing from  a  great  injustice.  Looking  back  more  than  500  years, 
we  find  two  sovereigns  of  France  successively  driving  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Hebrew  race  out  of  that  country ;  many  of  these  fled 
to  Lombardy,  leaving  such  of  their  property  as  they  could  not  carry 
with  them  in  the  hands  of  traders  whom  they  could  trust;  and 
when  travellers  or  foreign  merchants  joun  eyed  back  from  Italy  to 
the  home  they  had  left,  and  needed  to  draw  money  there,  these 
Lombardy  exiles  gave  them  private  letters  directed  to  the  holders 
of  their  property,  out  of  which  they  were  directed  to  pay  such 
sums  as  had  been  negotiated  for.  At  first  this  was  done  solely  in 
a  friendly  and  even  secret  way,  but  the  convenience  was  so  great 
that  it  soon  became  known  and  popular,  and  from  this  obscure 
beginning  has  arisen  the  great  and  beneficent  system  of  modern 
banking. 

Many  years   ago  there  was    residing  in  the  picturesque  little 

town  of  Atzey,  in  Germany,  a  family  of  the  name  of  Schoonberg 

(which  means  beautiful  hill);  for   some   unexplained  reason  this 

historical  name  became  Gallicised  by  some  of  the  modern  branches 

(668) 


AUGUST     BEI.MONT.  669 

of  the  family,  who  preferred  the  smoother  accents  of  the  French 
translation,  Belmont — meaning  the  same  thing  as  Schoonberg ; 
and  to  this  branch  of  the  original  Schoonberg  family  belongs  the 
famous  banker  of  New  York,  August  Belmont.  When  a  young 
man,  in  1837,  Mr.  Belmont  was  attached  to  the  great  financial 
house  of  the  Rothschilds  in  Europe,  and  about  that  time  there 
arose  an  occasion  for  some  one  to  represent  the  house  in  America  ; 
the  party  originally  selected  for  this  service  was  detained  by  ill- 
ness, and  it  was  necessary  to  cast  about  for'  some  one  to  supply 
his  place ;  August  Belmont  was  thought  of,  his  youth  only  stand- 
ing in  the  way ;  but  he  had  already  proven  himself  a  clear-headed, 
shrewd,  reliable  person  ;  there  was  no  time  to  lose,  and  suitable 
agents  were  not  to  be  found  on  every  hand.  The  chief  of  the 
house  sent  for  him.  "  We  want  some  one  to  go  to  New  York 
immediately ;  will  you  go,  and  if  so,  when  can  you  be  ready  ?  " 

"  I  can  be  ready  and  will  go  to-morrow,"  promptly  answered 
young  Belmont.  This  seemed  to  him  an  opening  not  to  be 
slighted,  and  an  opportunity  that  might  never  occur  again.  He 
lost  no  time  in  getting  the  few  really  necessary  articles  ready  for 
the  voyage,  and  early  the  next  morning  presented  himself  for 
final  orders.  Once  located  in  New  York  Mr.  Belmont  soon  grew 
to  the  place,  and  became  identified  with  its  material  and  political 
affairs,  in  which  he  still,  happily,  takes  a  deep  interest. 

On  achieving  his  citizenship  Mr.  Belmont  promptly  identified 
himself  with  the  Democratic  party,  to  which  he  has  adhered 
through  the  long  depression  of  its  fortunes,  believing  in  its  future 
through  every  fluctuation  of  its  course.  As  long  ago  as  1856 
Mr.  Belmont  was  Chairman  of  the  grand  Democratic  rally  and 
barbecue  held  in  "Jones'  Woods,"  on  which  occasion  the  late 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  the  oratorical  attraction.  In  1860  he 
was  Chairman  of  the  last  National  Democratic  Convention  held 
in  the  South,  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1860.  In  1876 
Mr.  Belmont  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden  for  the 
Presidency.  Since  that  period  Mr.  Belmont  has  not  followed 


670  AUGUST     BELMONT. 

politics  quite  so  closely  as  formerly,  for  one  reason  perhaps  that 
his  son,  Mr.  Perry  Belmont,  was  coming  to  the  front  as  a  working 
politician.  This  young  man,  who  had  already  made  his  mark  in 
local  politics,  was  elected  to  Congress  by  the  First  Congressional 
District  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  November,  1882.  In  the 
next  Congress  he  soon  signalized  himself  in  a  somewhat  chivalrous 
fashion  in  his  tilt  with  Mr.  Blaine  on  the  matter  of  the  Peruvian 
investigation,  throwing  himself  into  the  breach  against  the  popular 
senator. 

Bankers  are  of  course  subject  to  a  great  many  applications 
for  money  for  objects  which  can  by  no  possibility  render  them  a 
return  commensurate  with  the  risk.  People  with  all  sorts  of  wild 
projects  have  at  times  applied  to  Mr.  Belmont  for  aid.  Inven- 
tors with  impractical  machines,  speculators  with  the  most  flimsy 
of  securities,  obscure  little  towns  or  villages,  emulous  of  imitating 
richer  neighbors  in  building  some  public  work,  come  to  the  great 
banker  fully  expecting  to  go  away  with  their  pockets  filled  with 
gold  and  their  heads  crowned  with  glory  at  their  successful  nego- 
tiation. Many  amusing  incidents  might  be  related  in  this  connec- 
tion did  but  space  permit. 

Mr.  Belmont  married  about  1843-4  the  daughter  of  Commander 
Perry,  who  was  at  the  time  Commandant  of  the  Brooklyn  Navy 
Yard,  and  the  wedding  took  place  on  United  States  government 
ground,  within  the  precincts  of  "  the  yard," — Commander  Perry's 
residence  being  then  located  a  short  distance  from  where  the 
Lyceum  building  now  stands ;  through  this  marriage  Mr.  Bel- 
mont's  children  are  related  to  Commodore  Oliver  Hazard  Perry, 
44  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie " — his  father-in-law,  the  commandant, 
having  made  his  mark  in  the  Eastern  seas,  in  Japanese  waters. 

Mr.  Belmont's  office  is  not  on  Wall  street,  but  close  to  it,  on 
Nassau,  where  that  street  debouches  into  Wall,  opposite  Broad, 
and  almost  within  sound  of  the  roar  of  the  Stock  Exchange  ;  his 
winter  residence  is1  on  Fifth  avenue,  but  his  summer  residence  is 
less  fixed,  Saratoga  and  Newport,  etc.,  making  their  claims  upon 


AUGUST    BELMONT.  671 

him,  alternating,  particularly  earlier  in  life,  with  trips  to  Europe ; 
but  he  has  a  very  famous  stock-farm  on  Long  Island,  lying  be- 
tween Babylon  and  Hempstead ;  it  is  a  lovely  place,  under  fine 
"cultivation,  and  is  the  more  remarkable  because  the  land  had 
been  ever  since  the  settlement  of  the  island  classed  with  the  bad 
lands,  or  "  barrens,"  as  that  section  of  the  plains  was  called  in  the 
local  vernacular.  These  Hempstead  plains,  or  "  barrens,"  have 
been  covered  time  out  of  mind  with  scrub-oak,  and  were  looked 
upon  as  nearly  worthless,  but  Mr.  Belmont  has  shown  that  they 
only  need  ordinary  care  and  culture  to  become  most  productive 
and  profitable.  This  farm,  with  the  stock,  is  estimated  to  be  worth 
a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars ;  near  it,  at  Hempstead,  his  son, 
August,  has  a  residence ;  he  keeps  a  stable  of  racing  horses  and 
polo  ponies,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  fox-hunting  asso- 
ciation, known  as  the  "  Meadow  Brook  Hunt."  Mr.  Belmont's 
wealth  is  estimated  at  $10,000,000. 


ALVIN   ADAMS. 

THE  history  of  the  express  business  in  this  country  dates 
from  1839,  m  which  year  William  F.  Harnden,  the  "original 
expressman,"  transported  his  first  packages  in  his  pocket.  He 
received  his  earliest  inspiration  and  encouragement  in  his  under- 
taking from  James  W.  Hale,  who  really  originated  the  idea,  and 
was  the  first  man  who  was  a  messenger  for  the  public  in  the 
United  States.  He  confined  his  attention  to  letters  only,  making 
his  rates  much  lower  than  those  charged  by  the  government,  and 
thereby  ultimately  causing  a  reduction  in  the  price  of  postage. 

The  inauguration  and  initial  work  in  the  express  business  was 
performed  by  these  two  men,  and  Alvin  Adams,  the  third  member 
of  the  triumvirate,  developed  its  resources. 

Alvin  Adams,  like  many  another  successful  man,  began  life  a 
poor  boy  without  much  education  or  any  influential  friends.  All 
that  he  became,  and  he  was  not  only  a  successful  business  man 
but  a  good  and  generous  one,  he  owed  to  himself.  Born  in  Ver- 
mont of  poor  parents,  he  early  was  left  an  orphan  and  compelled 
to  earn  his  own  support.  He  was  a  country  boy,  brought  up  on  a 
farm  and  early  inured  to  work,  but  he  was  strong  and  of  excellent 
constitution,  and  labor  was  not  a  cross  to  him.  Working  with 
one's  parents  and  for  strangers  are  quite  different  things  some- 
times, and  young  Adams  decided  that  he  would  not  be  a  farm- 
laborer  but  would  go  to  Boston  and  seek  his  fortune.  There  was 
that  in  his  make-up  that  made  him  friends  among  strangers,  and 
he  was  not  long  in  the  great  city  before  he  had  found  a  place. 
His  first  position  was  an  humble  one — that  of  office  boy  in  a  hotel 
— but  it  was  a  stepping-stone  to  him  to  higher  things.  He  made 
himself  useful  to  the  proprietor,  and  after  several  years  he  was 
(672) 


ALVIN     ADAMS.  673 

promoted  to  a  clerkship.  The  Lafayette  Hotel  in  those  days  was 
a  centre  of  business  in  one  sense,  for  from  its  doors  started  the 
stages  which  carried  the  United  States  mail,  and  as  this  was  be- 
fore the  days  of  railroad  the  going  and  coming  of  the  stages  was 
an  important  event.  Young  Adams  was  temperate  and  indus- 
trious, and  of  pleasing  manners,  and  was  soon  of  invaluable  ser- 
vice to  his  employer.  For  a  few  years  he  worked  as  a  clerk,  and 
then  decided  to  go  into  some  business  where  he  would  be  more 
independent  and  have  greater  opportunity  to  make  more  than 
mere  wages.  The  stables  of  the  stage  companies  were  near  the 
hotel,  and  he  had  been  thrown  much  with  the  stage-drivers,  whose 
business  he  much  liked.  The  stage-drivers  in  New  England  in 
that  day  were  very  important  personages  in  the  community.  They 
were  usually  persons  of  character,  and  their  calling  was  a  most 
responsible  one.  To  them  was  intrusted  the  transaction  of  all 
kinds  of  business,  from  a  message  to  paying  notes  due  and  buying 
merchandise  for  households.  Ladies  travelling  alone  and  children 
on  their  journeys  to  and  fro  to  boarding-schools  were  placed  in  their 
care,  and  the  stage-driver  was  consulted  for  the  news  even  by  the 
village  domine  and  "  squire."  It  is  likely  that  Adams  pined  as  much 
for  the  out-of-door  life  as  for  the  emoluments  "  of  the  box  ;  "  at  any 
rate  he  applied  for  a  position  as  driver,  and  was  persuaded  not  to 
take  it.  The  stage-agent,  who  knew  him  well,  prevailed  upon  him 
not  to  become  a  stage-driver  but  to  strive  for  something  better,  and 
after  a  struggle  with  himself  Mr.  Adams  gave  up  the  idea,  per- 
haps to  his  regret  afterwards,  for  he  was  clearly  unfitted  for  the 
business  he  engaged  in  and  was  unsuccessful  in  it. 

He  opened  a  family-grocery,  and  from  it  went  into  general  pro- 
duce on  a  more  extended  scale,  and  failed  for  every  dollar  he  was 
worth.  He  was  richer  only  in  experience,  and  had  to  begin  the 
world  again  as  poor  in  money  as  when  he  first  started  out.  He  had. 
however,  made  strong  friends,  and  was  wise  in  the  determination 
not  to  give  up  and  be  submerged  by  misfortune.  His  recuperative 
power  then  and  always  throughout  his  long  life  was  great;  he  might 
43 


674  ALVIN     ADAMS. 

fall  down,  but  he  was  certain  to  be  up  again  undismayed  even  if 
hurt,  and  his  hope  buoyed  him  on  over  difficulties  that  would  have 
turned  back  less  courageous  workers.  When  fortune  smiled  again 
upon  him  he  paid  his  creditors  every  cent  due,  and  thus  per- 
manently established  his  reputation  as  a  true  business  man.  In 
the  meantime,  however,  he  worked  very  hard  without  any  capital, 
and  supported  himself  only  by  the  most  rigid  economy.  At 
that  time  William  Harnden  had  successfully  established  the 
first  express  business  started  in  New  England,  and  Adams 
decided  to  engage  in  the  same  occupation.  He  proposed  to 
make  business  for  himself,  and  supposed  his  intentions  would  be 
understood  and  indorsed  by  the  public.  The  express  business, 
unlike  any  other,  was  looked  upon  as  the  exclusive  monopoly  of 
the  man  who  founded  it,  and  Adams  found  himself  compelled  to 
contend  against  prejudice  and  abuse  from  all  sides,  in  addition  to 
the  legitimate  difficulties  incident  to  the  establishment  of  a  new 
undertaking. 

Harnden  himself  felt  aggrieved,  and  his  friends  argued  that 
there  was  only  employment  for  one  man  in  the  business,  and  the 
public  owed  it  to  him  to  sustain  him  against  interlopers.  Such  a 
position  was  not  tenable,  as  Adams  well  knew,  and  he  persisted  in 
his  determination  to  follow  the  pursuit.  He  had  no  funds,  and 
entered  into  a  partnership  with  P.  B.  Burke,  under  the  firm- 
name  of  Burke  &  Co.  After  a  few  months  of  up-hill  work  Mr. 
Burke  retired  from  the  business,  and  Mr.  Adams  continued  alone, 
doing  all  the  work  of  messenger,  cashier,  receipt-clerk,  label-boy 
and  porter.  It  was  not  a  herculean  task,  though  it  combined  so 
many  occupations,  for  the  reason  that  all  the  business  he  did  for 
some  time  he  could  have  carried  in  his  hat.  Later  a  valise  was 
necessary,  and  when  his  business  reached  such  dimensions  as  re- 
quired a  trunk,  he  felt  that  fortune  was  indeed  smiling  upon  his 
efforts. 

When  once  he  had  demonstrated  the  fact  that  there  was  room 
in  the  world  for  two  expressmen  his  patronage  rapidly  increased, 


ALVIN     ADAMS.  675 

and  with  it  greater  facilities.  He  hired  first  one  and  then  two 
assistants,  and  finally  had  three  persons  in  his  employ.  Meantime 
Harnden,  occupied  in  other  business  enterprises,  had  not  been 
sufficiently  enterprising  to  keep  his  young  and  shrewd  competitor 
in  the  background.  He  did  not  believe  that  the  business  would 
ever  assume  very  large  proportions,  and  he  was  content  to  keep 
on  in  the  old  way,  making  no  additional  effort,  and  offering  no 
fresh  inducements  to  the  public  to  patronize  him.  It  is  doubtful 
if  Adams  himself  had  any  conception  of  the  extent  to  which  the 
business  would  be  extended  in  a  few  years  and  ultimately,  but 
certainly  Harnden  did  not,  and  he  permitted  Adams,  whose 
sagacity  and  clear-headedness  made  him  many  business  friends,  to 
wrest  from  him  much  of  his  custom.  Others,  seeing  that  a  rival 
could  succeed,  entered  the  field,  and  soon  there  were  other  ex- 
pressmen competing  for  business. 

At  first  Adams'  business  was  limited  to  Boston,  Worcester,  New 
London,  Norwich  and  New  York,  but  in  1843  ^  was  extended, 
and  Mr.  Ephraim  Farnsworth  became  his  partner,  and  was  at  the 
head  of  the  New  York  office.  A  wagon  was  purchased  for  use  in 
Boston,  and,  most  fortunately  for  Mr.  Adams,  he  had  for  a  driver 
a  man  who  had  made  himself  a  popular  reputation  as  a  stage- 
driver.  This  man,  Samuel  L.  Woodard,  was  invaluable  to  him. 
and  for  many  years  served  the  young  expressman  with  indefatiga- 
ble zeal.  He  was  richer  than  Mr.  Adams,  owning  several  farms, 
and  might  have  rested  from  active  labor  had  his  wish  been  to  do 
so.  He  loved  to  work,  and  was  an  ally  needful  to  the  success  of 
Mr.  Adams,  whose  enterprising  and  pushing  characteristics  made 
it  essential  for  him  to  have  others  who  could  be  relied  upon  to  do 
routine  work.  Through  all  these  yeaYs  Mr.  Adams  resided  in 
Boston,  happily  surrounded  by  his  young  family,  and  having 
charge  of  the  office  there.  His  partner  in  New  York  withdrew 
from  the  business,  and  Mr.  Adams  remained  alone.  He  was  not 
a  man  to  have  partners  unless  he  had  the  place  of  authority,  for 
he  was  too  strongly  individualized  to  be  controlled  or  hampered 


676  ALVIN     ADAMS. 

by  more  conservative  men.  When  a  company  was  formed  he 
took  in  the  young  men  who  had  served  him  well,  and  nearly  all  of 
whom  are  still  associated  with  it.  His  two  sons  grew  up  in  the 
business  and  are  still  at  the  head  of  the  company. 

When  the  war  broke  out  the  Adams  Express  Company  was  at 
the  head  of  the  express  business  in  this  country,  and  it  had  branch 
offices  throughout  the  North  and  South.  Three  large  companies 
were  in  existence,  but  none  were  so  prosperous  as  the  Adams, 
and  hence  the  government,  in  its  preparations  for  war,  utilized  this 
organized  power,  and  the  company  became  identified  with  it.  For 
five  years,  succeeding  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter,  the  Adams 
Express  Company  was  a  national  blessing,  carrying  comfort  to 
the  sick  and  the  wounded,  returning  to  homes  the  bodies  of  those 
whose  battles  were  over,  and  delivering  to  absent  ones  in  the  field 
remembrances  from  the  loved  ones  at  home.  On  every  battle- 
field were  express  messengers,  and  in  the  front,  with  the  foremost, 
were  the  agents  of  the  company,  hastening  forward  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  the  despatch  of  business. 

Mr.  Adams  lived  until  1877,  when  he  died  on  the  2d  of  Septem- 
ber, in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
urbanity  and  genial  benevolence.  He  lived  in  his  beautiful  home 
at  Watertown,  near  Boston,  surrounded  by  his  family  circle,  which 
had  much  diminished  in  numbers  in  the  later  years  of  his  life.  In 
the  enjoyment  of  the  respect  of  his  fellow-men,  abundantly  supplied 
with  riches  honestly  won,  and  at  the  head  of  a  business  which  gives 
employment  to  thousands  of  working-people,  and  is  respected 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  his  life  was  a  for- 
tunate and  happy  one,  and  blessed  in  many  respects,  through  his 
own  efforts  mainly,  beyond  the  average  lives  of  men. 


HON.  WILLIAM   G.  FARGO. 

IN  the  year  1831,  if  a  traveller  had  happened  to  be  riding  over 
the  country  roads  between  the  town  of  Pompey,  New  York,  and 
Apulia,  passing  through  Waterville,  Maulins,  Oran,  Delphi,  and 
Fa'bius,  he  would  have  been  pretty  sure  to  meet  on  the  way  a 
small  lad  on  horseback,  hardly  more  than  a  dozen  years  of  age, 
guarding  with  care  a  large  leathern  bag,  riding  as  quickly  as  the 
quality  of  his  horse  would  permit,  and  as  intent  upon  his  business 
as  any  "  grave  and  reverend  Seignior  "  could  have  been.  This  boy 
was  William  G.  Fargo,  and  the  contents  of  the  leathern  bag  was 
that  part  of  the  United  States  mail  destined  for  the  section  of  the 
country  through  which  he  rode.  Evidently  highwaymen  were  not 
habitues  of  that  section  of  the  country  or  the  mail  contractor,  Mr. 
Daniel  Butts,  of  Pompey,  would  not  have  intrusted  the  mail 
matter  of  a  forty-mile  circuit  to  this  mere  child ;  neither  could 
William  Fargo  have  been  an  ordinary  boy ;  he  must  have  been 
prompt,  reliable,  trustworthy. 

William  Fargo's  most  remote  ancestor  in  this  country  was 
Moses  Fargo  (sometimes  written  Firgo),  who  came  from  England 
to  Connecticut  about  1670,  settling  in  New  London.  His  great- 
grandson,  William  C.,  fought  with  the  patriots  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  and  obtained  at  least  a  local  distinction  by  his  devotion 
and  bravery ;  after  the  peace  settling  down  as  a  farmer,  to  which 
he  afterwards  added  the  business  of  distilling.  His  son,  the  young 
mail-carrier,  was  born  on  May  20,  1818,  after  the  family  had 
located  in  Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  New  York.  A  great  deal 
of  work  and  very  little  schooling  filled  up  the  measure  of  his  days 
until  his  thirteenth  year,  from  which  time  forward  business  of  some 
kind  occupied  nearly  all  of  his  waking  hours ;  and  perhaps  no 


6/8  HON.     WILLIAM     G.    FARGO. 

form  of  work  which  a  boy  could  do  was  so  well  calculated  to  Im- 
press upon  a  youthful  mind  the  prime  conditions  of  all  successful 
business,  the  necessity  of  certainty  and  despatch.  The  mail  he 
was  intrusted  with  must  be  delivered  every  day  precisely  to  time  ; 
no  storm,  or  heat  and  cold,  could  be  considered,  no  holiday  regard, 
no  circus  must  detain  the  mail-boy  from  his  route ;  in  this  engage- 
ment he  learned  once  for  all  that  when  a  contract  is  made  it  must 
be  fulfilled.  Seeking  a  more  remunerative  employment  we  next 
find  him  assisting  in  the  country  store  and  tavern  of  Ira  Curtiss  at 
Waterville,  where  he  attended  a  term  or  two  of  evening  school 
and  learned  to  keep  accounts.  From  thence,  in  1835,  he  went  to 
the  larger  city  of  Syracuse  with  Messrs.  Hough  &  Gilbert, 
grocers,  with  whom  he  remained  a  year;  when,  receiving  the  offer 
of  a  better  salary,  he  entered  the  service  of  another  firm  in  the 
same  trade,  Messrs.  R.  &  W.  Heninan ;  here  he  remained  three 
years,  afterwards  engaging  in  the  forwarding  house  of  Dumford 
&Co. 

In  January,  1840,  Mr.  Fargo  married  Miss  Anna  H.,  daughter 
of  Nathan  Williams,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Pompey.  He 
now  decided  to  cease  clerking  and  to  commence  business  for  him- 
self, and  inviting  his  brother  Jerome  to  join  him,  together  they 
opened  a  grocery  and  provision  store  in  Weedsport :  they  after- 
wards added  a  bakery,  but  the  firm  did  not  make  a  success  of  it, 
and  William  removed  to  Auburn,  where  he  shortly  after  accepted 
the  freight  agency  of  the  newly-completed  Auburn  &  Syracuse 
Railroad.  Two  years  later  saw  his  entrance  into  the  express 
business,  with  which  he  was  ever  after  identified.  In  1842  he  was 
engaged  as  messenger  for  Pomeroy  &  Co.,  who  had  recently  es- 
tablished an  express  line  between  Auburn  and  Buffalo.  At  this 
period  the  railroad  was  only  completed  to  Batavia,  and  from  that 
point  westward  packages  "  per  Express  "  were  forwarded  by  stages. 
The  next  year  Mr.  Fargo  removed  to  Buffalo,  having  accepted  the 
agency  of  the  express  company  at  that  city. 

Mr.  Fargo  appears  to  have  had  a  mind  admirably  adapted  for 


HON.     WILLIAM     G.     FARGO.  679 

the  large  business  he  finally  undertook,  and  most  of  his  occupation 
through  life  had  been  directly  or  indirectly  a  preparation  for  it, 
and  though  hitherto  it  had  been  conducted  principally  by  local 
companies,  Mr.  Fargo  saw,  even  in  this,  its  incipient  state,  the 
great  expansion  of  which  it  was  capable,  and  he  felt  an  internal 
conviction  that  in  his  own  hands  he  could  organize  a  service  co- 
extensive with  the  nation.  The  principal  drawback  to  the  realiza- 
tion of  these  thoughts  was  lack  of  capital;  however,  in  1844,  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Henry  Wells  and  Mr.  Daniel 
Dunning,  and  organized  an  express  line  from  Buffalo  to  Detroit, 
via  Cleveland,  thus  introducing  the  express  system  into  what  was 
then  the  "  Far  West."  The  firm-name  of  this  trio  was  "  Wells  & 
Co.,"  hence  it  may  be  inferred  that  what  little  capital  there  was 
Mr.  Wells  furnished  the  greater  part;  but  neither  of  them  had 
much — a  few  hundred  dollars  apiece  was  the  utmost  of  their  re- 
sources. The  enormous  railroad  system  of  the  West,  as  we  see 
it  to-day,  had  yet  to  be  born.  In  1844  there  was  only  one  railroad 
in  Ohio — that  from  Sandusky  City  to  Monroeville,  and  one  in  Mich- 
igan, between  Detroit  and  Ypsilanti,  consequently  nearly  all  the 
expressing  business  was  done  either  by  steamers  or  stages:  the 
former  in  summer,  the  latter  in  winter. 

The  company  attracted  business  by  the  certainty  and  safety 
which  they  guaranteed :  promptness  was  their  motto,  and  in  less 
than  two  years  their  line  was  extended  northwest  to  Chicago, 
Milwaukee,  and  Galena,  and  south  to  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Dunning 
withdrew  from  the  firm  at  the  end  of  the  first  year,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  second  Mr.  Wells  sold  out  his  interest  to  Mr.  William  A. 
Livingston — the  firm  becoming  "  Livingston  &  Fargo."  In  the 
meantime  other  express  companies  had  sprung  up ;  among  the 
new  firms  were  those  of  "Johnson  Livingston"  and  "Henry 
Wells  ;  "  that  of  "  Butterfield,  Wasson  &  Co.,"  and  that  of  "  Liv- 
ingston, Wells  &  Co. " — these  were  all  running  more  or  less  to 
the  injury  of  each  other  and  of  "Livingston  &  Fargo."  A  con- 
sultation was  held  in  1850  by  representatives  of  these  different 


68O  HON.     WILLIAM     G.    FARGO. 

companies,  and  in  March  of  that  year  the  "American  Express 
Company"  was  formed,  consolidating  the  interests  of  all  these 
parties :  Henry  Wells  became  the  first  President  and  William  G. 
Fargo  the  first  Secretary,  which  offices  they  respectively  held  until 
December,  1868,  when  the  American  Express  Company  was  con- 
solidated with  the  Merchants'  Union  Express  Company,  of  which 
Mr.  Fargo  was  elected  President,  which  position  he  held  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life. 

The  company  organized  in  1851,  under  the  name  of  "Wells, 
Fargo  &  Co.,"  commenced  the  express  business  between  New 
York  and  San  Francisco  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  with  branch 
lines  on  the  Pacific  coast,  continuing  until  the  opening  of  the 
Union  and  Central  Pacific  Railroads,  when  the  ocean  service 
was  abandoned  for  the  more  direct  and  speedy  route.  Of  this 
company  Mr,  Fargo  was  a  vice-president  and  director.  In  1857 
the  United  States  Government  solicited  proposals  from  the  express 
companies  for  conveying  the  mails  from  St.  Louis  to  San  Fran- 
cisco via  El  Paso,  Texas,  Fort  Yuma,  and  San  Diego,  known  as 
the  Southern  route;  for  this  purpose  the  several  existing  com- 
panies organized  as  one,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Overland  Mail 
Company,"  and  this  arrangement  for  conveying  the  mails  over  the 
route  designated  was  maintained  until  1861,  when  it  was  inter- 
rupted  by  the  war,  and  the  company  was  dissolved.  This  same 
year  Mr.  Fargo  was  elected  Mayor  of  Buffalo,  and  was  re-elected 
in  1863.  Personally  he  was  a  Democrat,  but  in  the  administration 
of  his  office  there  was  visible  no  undue  partisanship,  his  superior 
business  qualities  and  broad  generous  spirit  of  his  civic  adminis- 
tration winning  for  him  the  approval  of  all  parties. 

"Fargo,  Wells  &  Co."  had  a  capital  of  $18,000,000.  They 
maintained  2,700  offices  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  their  army  of 
employes  numbering  5,000  men,  including  600  messengers.  Be- 
sides his  forty  years  at  the  head  of  the  express  business  of  the 
country,  Mr.  Fargo  was  for  some  time  a  Director  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  and  was  a  Director  and 


HON.     WILLIAM     G.     FARGO.  68 1 

large  stockholder  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad ;  also  of  the 
Buffalo,  New  York  and  Philadelphia  Railroad  Company,  and  was 
financially  interested  in  the  Buffalo  Company,  and  the  McKean 
and  Buffalo  Narrow  Gauge  Railroad.  Besides  these  large  railroad 
interests  he  was  a  stockholder  in  many  manufacturing  concerns 
in  different  parts  of  the  State.  When  Mr.  Henry  Keep  resigned 
the  Presidency  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  the  office  was 
tendered  to  Mr.  Fargo,  but  he  declined  it  on  account  of  his  nu- 
merous other  engagements.  It  was  his  brother,  Jerome  F.  Fargo, 
that,  was  for  so  long  a  time  Superintendent  of  the  American 
Express  Company,  and  who  died  in  January  of  the  present  year 
(1883). 

Mr.  William  G.  Fargo  was  a  man  of  fine  presence,  nearly  six 
feet  in  height ;  he  had  regular  features  and  a  pleasing  expression 
of  countenance,  although  he  looked  older  than  he  was ;  the  traces 
of  incessant  care  had  left  their  marks  upon  his  brow  in  middle  life, 
and  also  tinged  his  hair  with  gray  prematurely.  Previous  to  his  last 
acute  illness,  Mr.  Fargo  had  been  out  of  health  for  some  months, 
and  in  February,  1881,  he  took  a  trip  South,  hoping  to  benefit  by 
the  change.  He  had  a  farm  at  Aiken,  South  Carolina,  where  he 
spent  some  time,  and  also  visited  Fortress  Monroe,  not  returning 
North  until  May.  Reaching  his  home  at  Buffalo  in  July,  he  died 
on  the  3d  of  August.  He  left  a  widow  and  two  daughters. 


H.    B.    CLAFLIN. 

PROBABLY  no  merchant  in  the  line  of  dry-goods  was  more  widely 
known  by  name  in  the  United  States  than  that  of  Claflin.  For 
many  years  there  was  a  rivalry  existing  between  him  and  the  late 
A.  T.  Stewart;  but  they  finally  diverged  somewhat  in  the  prom- 
inence of  certain  lines  of  goods,  Stewart  tending  to  the  finer  pro- 
ductions of  laces  and  silks,  while  Mr.  Claflin  made  more  prominent 
the  heavier  staple  articles ;  then,  too,  Mr.  Stewart  never  aban- 
doned the  retail  trade,  which  Claflin  gave  up  many  years  ago. 

Horace  B.  Claflin  was  born  in  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts, 
about  1810,  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  that  com- 
monwealth, which  has  at  all  times,  and  in  every  portion  within  its 
borders,  provided  a  good  elementary  training  for  its  youth.  When 
quite  a  young  man,  Horace  Claflin  was  in  the  dry-goods  business 
in  the  city  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  the  firm  being  known  as 
Claflin  &  Daniels ;  but  Worcester  was  at  that  time  too  much  of  a 
"pent-up  Utica"  to  satisfy  the  expanding  visions  of  the  young 
merchant;  a  few  years  later  we  find  him  in  Cedar  street,  New 
York,  in  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Buckley,  occupying  as  a  store  the 
lower  part  of  a  four-story  dwelling-house.  It  was  very  common 
then  for  even  well-to-do  merchants  to  live  over  their  stores ;  and 
it  was  not  unusual  for  them  to  receive  the  younger  clerks  into 
their  family,  where  they  could  look  after  their  morals,  and  see  that 
they  kept  good  hours.  Mr.  Claflin  belonged  to  this  steady,  sub- 
stantial class,  who  was  in  no  haste  to  rush  into  display,  or  to  let 
the  world  too  early  into  the  knowledge  of  his  growing  bank 
account. 

Enterprising,  energetic,  and  quick  to  perceive  the  changes 
affecting  business,  he  was  not  long  in  discovering  that  Cedar 
(682) 


H.   B.  CLAFLIN. 


ri.A7-T.rv. 


6-3 

street,  opposite  the  old  post-office,  was  not  exactly  a  prime  loca- 
tion for  dry-goods.  After  the  "great  fire,"  a  great  many  mer- 
chants in  that  line  who  had  located  in  Pearl  street  and  the  vicinity 
of  Hanover  Square,  began  to  push  over  to  the  western  side  of  the 
city,  many  like  Mr.  Claflin  making  a  settlement  on  Broadway.  It 
was  here  that  "  Claflin  &  Mellen  "  first  halted  on  their  progressive 
movement  up-town ;  for  many  years  their  store  was  located  in  the 
Trinity  building,  then  recently  erected,  and  this  was  considered  an 
excellent  site ;  but  the  dry-goods  business  had  no  abiding-place 
there ;  all  that  part  of  the  city  was  soon  needed  for  offices ;  and 
Mr.  Claflin  having  greatly  prospered  concluded  to  build  for  him- 
self, and  the  elegant  and  commodious  store  on  West  Broadway, 
corner  of  Worth  street,  was  erected.  The  retail  business  was 
abandoned  with  other  great  changes,  and  additional  lines  of  goods 
introduced;  instead  of  dealing  exclusively  in  dry-goods,  boots  and 
shoes,  Yankee  notions,  and  other  novelties  were  introduced,  so 
that  it  has  been  said  one  may  go  in  at  one  side  of  Claflin's  empty- 
handed  and  come  out  on  the  other  fitted  up  with  everything  one 
needs  to  wear,  and  almost  everything  one  needs  to  use.  It  is  one 
of  the  largest  concerns  in  the  world. 

About  1848  Mr.  Claflin  took  up  his  residence  in  Brooklyn,  of 
which  city  he  was  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  a  resident,  except 
during  the  summer  months,  when  he  resided  either  in  Massachusetts 
or  in  a  suburban  villa  north  of  New  York  city.  His  "  legal  resi- 
dence," so  far  as  the  assessor's  books  are  concerned,  was  not,  how- 
ever, in  New  York  or  Brooklyn.  For  some  years  he  occupied  a 
comfortable,  modest  dwelling  in  the  latter  city,  but  a  few  years  before 
his  death  he  built  on  Pierrepont  street  one  of  the  most  costly  and 
substantial  residences  in  the  city.  It  is  of  brown  stone,  forty  feet 
front  and  four  stories  in  height ;  the  entrance  is  in  the  centre,  being 
flanked  by  a  swell  front  on  each  side.  It  is  a  very  massive  building, 
and  the  lots  upon  which  it  is  built  cost  an  old-fashioned  fortune. 
One  of  the  lots  was  owned  by  Mr.  Claflin's  neighbor,  Mr.  Samuel 
McLean,  who,  unwilling  to  sell,  refused  to  negotiate  for  a  long 


684  H<  B>  CLAFLIN- 

time;  the  lot  in  its  maximum  price  was  valued  at  $15,000, but  Mr. 
Claflin  could  not  build  his  house  on  the  magnificent  scale  intended 
without  this  additional  lot.  At  last  he  said  :  "Will  you  take 
^40,000  for  it?"  The  offer  was  too  good  to  be  refused,  and  the 
result  of  the  concession  is  a  stately  dwelling  of  which  any  city 
might  be  proud. 

A  great  part  of  Mr.  Claflin's  business  was  selling  to  jobbers 
and  tradesmen  scattered  all  over  the  United  States,  and  notes  on 
time  were  constantly  taken  in  whole  or  part  payment  for  goods, 
but  with  these  notes  were  taken  many  mortgages  on  real  estate  as 
security.  Of  course  in  many  instances  the  purchasers  failed  to 
pay  on  time  ;  and  this  explains  the  remark  once  often  heard  that 
"  H.  B.  Claflin  owns  land  in  every  State  in  the  Union,"  for  in  the 
course  of  years  a  large  number  of  these  mortgages  had  to  be  fore- 
closed. Mr.  Claflin  had  few,  if  any,  eccentricities  ;  neither  was  he 
given  to  cultivating  hobbies  of  any  kind ;  if  he  had  a  pet  indul- 
gence it  was  in  his  supreme  friendship  and  devotion  to  the  late 
Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  one  of  whose  parishioners  he  was. 
Plymouth  Church  was  indeed  shorn  of  one  of  its  prominent  orna- 
ments when  the  venerable  head  of  H.  B.  Claflin  was  missed  from 
his  prominent  pew  in  the  middle  aisle.  Mr.  Claflin  was  a  steady 
financial  supporter  of  the  church,  and  also  did  his  share  towards 
aiding  literary  and  art  institutions  in  Brooklyn ;  and  charitable  in- 
stitutions never  failed  when  they  called  upon  him  for  help.  He  in- 
terested himself  at  one  time  in  trying  to  secure  a  system  of  cable- 
traction  railways,  both  for  the  city  and  counties  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  upon  the  presentation  of  a  petition  headed  by  him, 
*  Mayor  Edson  appointed  five  commissioners  to  consider  the  feasi- 
bility of  the  proposition.  His  business* transactions  many  years 
before  his  death  reached  $33,000,000  per  annum,  and  have  been 
increasing  ever  since.  Mr.  Claflin's  death  occurred  November 
I4th,  1885. 


JOHN    D.   ROCKEFELLER. 

JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER  is  the  Aladdin  of  to-day — the  organizer 
of  that  mysterious  and  mighty  syndicate,  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany, which  yearly  brings  $66,000,000  to  this  country  in  exchange 
for  oil  that  it  exports,  that  lights  the  sacred  shrines  of  Hindustan 
with  the  brilliant  product  of  the  wells  of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  exclu- 
sion, utter  and  absolute,  of  the  indigenous  vegetable  oils  ;  that  has 
seized  the  gas  monopolies  by  the  throat  and  forced  cheaper  light 
for  the  people  ;  that  has  brought  the  gnomes  of  mines  and  million- 
aire masters  of  railroads  to  their  knees ;  that  has  combined  the 
efforts  of  men  who  once  were  in  bitter  rivalry,  and  paradoxically, 
while  filling  their  pockets,  lightens  the  taxes  for  the  people  who 
fill  them.  John  D.  Rockefeller  is  a  Scot,  and  any  sketch  of  him 
is  necessarily  also — indeed,  almost  wholly — a  sketch  of  his  creation, 
the  Standard  Oil  Company.  With  vast  power  of  generalizing  and 
insight  into  detail,  combined  with  impenetrable  secresy,  he  has 
made  the  oil  pool  a  power  that  is  hated  and  dreaded  for  its  mys- 
tery;  and  yet,  on  the  Jeremy  Bentham  formula,  of  doing  the 
greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,  cannot  be  said  to  have  done 
harm  to  any  one.  True,  in  its  inexorable  course  of  conquest,  it 
has  thrown  aside  obstacles,  but  this  has  been  because  they  were 
obstacles.  Like  the  wild  buffalo  butting  the  locomotive,  if  they 
became  beef  it  was  their  own  fault,  and  their  hides,  horns,  hoofs, 
and  edible  portions  have-  been  made  available  for  consumption  by 
more  far-seeing  persons. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Rockefeller  can,  and  does,  keep  his  secrets,  is 
one  source  of  his  power.  Like  Mr.  Jay  Gould,  who  in  many  re- 
spects is  a  kindred  spirit,  Mr.  Rockefeller  owes  nothing  to  the 
hereditary  silver  spoons,  which  have  started  the  modern  Astors, 

(685) 


686  JOHN     D.    ROCKEFELLER. 

Vanderbilts,  Rothschilds,  etc.,  far  up  the  ladder  at  the  very  outset 
of  their  careers.  He  is  the  founder  of  his  own  fortune,  with 
grander  scope  than  the  most  energetic  of  the  progenitors  of  these 
families  of  millionaires.  Both  Mr.  Gould  and  Mr.  Rockefeller 
have  utilized  the  maxim,  that  "  Publicity  is  the  greatest  foe  to  suc- 
cess." With  themselves  alone  do  they  take  counsel,  and  when  a 
decision  has  been  reached,  action  follows  promptly.  If  it  were  not 
for  this  secresy  as  to  a  proposed  plan,  Mr.  Rockefeller  would  not 
to-day  be  as  rich  and  powerful  as  he  is.  Like  all  money-getters, 
except  those  who  fall,  so  to  say,  into  fortune's  lap,  he  always  has 
had  the  instinctive  faculties  needed  in  the  great  race  for  wealth. 

In  1864-5,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Pennsylvania  oil  excitement, 
the  firm  of  Clark  &  Rockefeller  was  doing  a  commission  business 
in  the  river  section  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  They  became  interested 
in  oil,  and  bought  some  Pennsylvania  land.  None  at  that  time 
could  have  predicted  the  subsequent  success  of  Rockefeller,  and 
his  blossoming  into  the  mighty  Standard  Company.  The  firm, 
through  Mr.  Samuel  Andrews,  tried  the  experiment  of  refining 
crude  petroleum:  Andrews  did  the  work,  while  the  other  two  fur- 
nished the  capital  and  did  the  managing.  Here  is  the  point  where 
Rockefeller's  success  began.  Around  this  small  nucleus  soon 
collected  much  material.  The  experiment  was  successful,  and  a 
larger  firm  was  organized.  The  system  which  has  culminated  in 
Rockefeller's  last  great  work  was  used  then.  It  was  the  system 
of  absorption  ;  carried  on  always  in  secrecy,  because  he  knew  that 
if  his  objects  were  known  and  his  actions  seen,  opposition  too 
strong  to  counteract  would  be  aroused. 

The  accumulating  and  absorbing  continued,  until  he  with  his 
partners  had  secured  a  very  comfortable  fortune,  which  he  never 
endangered  by  fatuous  speculation  in  either  oil,  stocks  or  mines. 
In  a  very  natural  way  he  came  to  New  York,  after  he  had  obtained 
control  of  all  the  refineries,  great  or  small,  around  Cleveland. 
Every  one  was  offered  a  chance  to  come  in  and  join  the  combina- 
tion or  do  its  bidding,  and  if  they  refused  were  sure  to  be  extin- 


JOHN     D.     ROCKEFELLER.  687 

guished  by  being  drawn  into  the  great  whirling  vortex  which  was 
moved  and  directed  by  Rockefeller. 

Legislative  committees  from  the  most  august  bodies  in  various 
States,  and  of  the  Federal  government  itself,  have  tried  again  and 
again  to  find  out  the  particulars  of  the  agreements  of  the  various 
combinations  and  sub-combinations  which  go  together  to  make  up 
the  syndicate  known  as  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Their  efforts 
have  been  vain.  Like  the  imponderable  vapors  of  naphtha,  learned 
counsel  and  legislators  found  they  were  combating  with  shadows, 
and  yet  these  elusive  shadows  had  a  potency  which  returned  blows 
of  anything  but  ghostly  force. 

Pipe  Line  Companies,  Trust  Companies,  and  Companies  for  all 
sorts  of  ostensible  purposes  are  surmised  and  have  been  partially 
proved  to  be  but  the  tentacles  of  this  monstrous  all-absorbing 
cuttlefish,  which  covers  its  tracks  with  oil  and  harvests  the  gold  of 
the  world. 

The  New  York  Times,  in  its  issue  of  November  i8th,  1882,  says: 
"  While  the  Standard  is,  in  the  real  meaning  of  the  word,  the 
greatest  monopoly  in  America,  as  powerful  in  its  own  field  as  the 
government  itself,  and  holding  the  entire  refined  and  crude  oil 
market  of  the  world  in  the  hollow  of  its  president's  hand,  its 
methods  and  dealings  are  the  most  securely  covered  up  and 
hidden  from  the  public  eye  of  any  corporation  that  anywhere  ap- 
proaches it  in  size  or  ramifications." 

This  is  true  enough,  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  far  understates  the  case. 

Lightning  has  struck  the  tanks  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
repeatedly.  More  tanks  are  built  from  its  inexhaustible  resources, 
and  the  great  work  of  illumination  goes  on.  It  has  set — not  the 
Thames — but  the  East  river  on  fire  several  times,  and  blown  up 
the  streets  of  Hunter's  Point  frequently  by  the  mixture  of  petro- 
leum gases  and  sewer  gases  and  atmospheric  air  in  the  sewers. 
Hunter's  Point,  Long  Island,  is  thus  not  an  agreeable  place  for 
suburban  residences,  but  the  gold-coining  industry  there  establishes 
a  fulcrum  by  which  the  Archimedian  lever  of  light  moves  the 


688  JOHN     D.     ROCKEFELLER. 

world.  The  company  pays  for  all  damages  done,  and,  unmoved, 
moves  relentlessly  on.  What  a  wonderful  conception  is  that  em- 
bodied in  these  Pipe  lines,  where  for  hundreds  of  miles  oil  is  con- 
veyed direct  from  the  sources  of  production  to  the  ships  which  take 
it  all  over  the  globe.  It  is  a  more  marvellous  adaptation  of  Amer- 
ican engineering  ingenuity  and  practical  skill  than  the  great  grain 
elevators,  pork-packing  establishments  or  systems  of  hydraulic 
mining  which  we  so  justly  boast  of.  The  science  of  law  is  en- 
riched by  the  new  questions  involved  in  the  settlement  of  rights  as 
between  riparian  owners  and  the  conductors  of  such  vast  and 
novel  enterprises. 

Driven  by  immense  engines,  the  oil  is  forced  by  millions  of 
gallons  daily  over  hill  and  dale,  from  the  oil  regions  to  the  sea- 
board, traversing  wilds  untracked,  save  by  the  deer,  bears,  and 
wild  birds  of  the  wilderness,  through  teeming  cities,  under  rivers, 
over  oil  ducts. 

The  ebbs  of  profit  incident  to  all  human  enterprises  are  taken 
philosophically,  and  the  good  name  gained  and  retained  by  this 
undeviating  integrity,  this  corporate  stiff  upper  lip,  is  a  capital  in 
itself.  Its  credit  is  simply  unlimited. 

It  has  taken  less  than  twenty  years  for  Mr.  Rockefeller  to  rise 
from  the  comparative  obscurity  as  a  commission  merchant  in  a 
country  town  to  power  exceeding  that  of  any  monarch.  If  the 
Rothschilds  cai  make  war,  Rockefeller  can  command  peace.  A 
collision  of  interests  between  the  historic  bankers  and  the  Chief 
of  Oil  would  be  disastrous,  but  not  to  Rockefeller. 

People  wonder  what  Mr.  Rockefeller's  weakness  is,  what  are 
his  peculiar  pursuits.  It  may  briefly  be  said,  the  pursuit  of  power 
is  all-absorbing.  Money  is  an  incident,  a  means  to  an  end.  He 
makes  money,  therefore,  diligently.  In  silence  and  ^ecrecy  to 
hold  the  electric  button  which  can  make  or  mar  monarchs  and 
warriors  and  make  them  dance  to  his  bidding,  is  the  charm  of  his 
existence. 
-  His  company  and  he  himself  occupy  a  very  fine  building  at  45 


JOHN     D.     ROCKEFELLER.  689 

Broadway,  New  York  city,  and  characteristically  no  hint  of  the 
Standard  Company's  existence  is  seen  outside.  A  sign  that  tells 
of  Charles  Pratt  &  Co.  is  all  one  sees.  But  the  entire  five  stories 
are  devoted  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  and  no  other  interests 
enter  there. 

His  residence  in  Cleveland  was  modest  and  comfortable,  but 
without  display  or  reaching  after  notoriety  as  a  patron  of  archi- 
tective  "  culchaw  "  or  isms,  least  of  all,  egoism. 

His  country  house  at  Greenwich  is  distinctively  in  contrast  with 
the  vulgar  splendor  of  Tweed  and  his  men,  the  "  Tigers  "  of  the 
Americus  Club,  and  his  chief  residence  at  the  corner  of  Fifth 
avenue  and  Fifty-fourth  street,  New  York,  is  not  splendid.  It  is 
handsome,  well  appointed,  evidently  the  home  of  a  rich  man ;  but 
as  evidently  not  the  apple  of  his  eye,  but  merely  the  tent  of  a 
prophet  of  modern  progress,  the  Mohammed  of  Illumination. 


DANIEL  J.   MURPHY. 

DANIEL  J.  MURPHY  is  distinguished  at  least  in  two  ways — one 
as  the  bearer  of  an  hereditary  title,  granted  by  the  pope,  and  in 
another  respect  he  stands  unique  even  in  the  history  of  California 
millionaires — he  is  the  largest  individual  land-owner  in  the  world. 
He  owns  in  one  mass  4,000,000  acres  in  Mexico,  60,000  in  Nevada, 
and  23,000  in  California ;  that  in  Mexico  is  located  within  twelve 
miles  of  the  city  of  Durango,  which  is  to  be  a  station  on  the 
Mexican  Central  Railroad.  It  is  sixty  miles  in  length  and  includes 
a  beautiful  country,  varied  with  hill  and  valley,  forest  and  meadow, 
including  some  heavy  growths  of  pine  timber ;  and  for  all  this 
splendid  land  he  paid  only  $200,000 — five  cents  an  acre !  but  that 
was  before  the  railroad  route  was  determined  on.  In  California 
he  devotes  his  land  to  wheat,  and  last  year  (1882)  harvested  fifty- 
five  thousand  sacks.  In  Nevada  the  land  is  reserved  for  stock, 
and  Mr.  Murphy  ships  six  thousand  cattle  eastward  every  year. 
Mr.  Murphy  has  not  always  been  wealthy,  and  there  were  times 
in  his  youth  when  he  had  great  difficulty  to  make  his  modest 
salary  equal  to  his  very  moderate  wants.  Raised  in  the  city  of 
New  York  he  first  meets  our  view  as  a  young  clerk  in  the  employ- 
ment of  Eugene  Kelly,  the  well-known  banker  of  Exchange  Place. 
At  the  time  referred  to,  some  thirty  years  ago,  Mr.  Kelly  was  in 
the  dry-goods  business,  principally  engaged  in  sending  goods  to 
California.  After  some  time  Mr.  Kelly  took  young  Murphy  into 
partnership,  and  eventually  left  him  his  whole  business  which  he 
had  organized  in  San  Francisco,  the  firm  in  later  years  bearing 
the  title  of  Murphy,  Grant  &  Co. 

Mr.  Murphy  accumulated  wealth  rapidly  and  began  investing 
in  lands ;  for  many  years  he  has  spent  a  large  portion  of  his  sur- 
(690) 


DANIEL    J.    MURPHY.  691 

plus  wealth  in  charity.  He  is  a  devoted  Catholic,  and  his  largesse 
was  naturally  turned  in  the  direction  of  Roman  Catholic  institu- 
tions. His  first  large  donations  were  bestowed  upon  the  Roman 
Catholic  Orphan  Asylums  in  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento ;  next 
the  Sisters  of  St.  Dominic  and  the  Nuns  of  the  Presentation,  who 
have  charge  of  the  large  free  school  of  San  Francisco ;  the  Brothers 
of  the  Christian  Schools  also  came  in  for  a  share  of  Mr.  Murphy's 
generous  gifts. 

Mr.  Murphy  has  a  taste  for  foreign  travel,  usually  making  Rome 
one  of  his  objective  points  when  in  Europe.  On  his  first  journey 
thither  he  was  armed  with  a  written  introduction  to  the  holy  father 
presented  to  him  by  the  Right  Reverend  Archbishop  Alemany  of 
San  Francisco.  Upon  the  occasion  of  his  second  visit  to  Rome, 
several  years  ago,  he  was  decorated  by  Pope  Pius  IX.  with  the 
order  of  St.  Gregory.  The  next  year  he  was  made  a  count  by 
the  same  authority.  Since  the  accession  of  His  Holiness  Leo 
XIII.  Mr.  Murphy  has  received  the  extraordinary  favor  of  being 
created  a  marquis;  this  title  is  hereditary,  and  has  been  bestowed 
by  the  pope  upon  one  other  American,  Mr.  Oliver,  who  is  also  a 
resident  of  San  Francisco.  By  the  seventh  clause  of  section  9  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  we  find  how  the  reception 
of  foreign  titles  is  regarded  in  that  instrument;  the  clause  reads: 
"  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States ;  and 
no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolu- 
ment, office  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever  from  any  king,  prince  or 
foreign  state."  By  the  letter  of  the  Constitution  a  private  citizen 
is  evidently  not  forbidden  to  accept  such  compliments  ;  but  the 
spirit  of  the  instrument  rightly  interpreted  would  lead  every  Ameri- 
can citizen  to  decline  at  least  an  hereditary  title,  which  is  entirely 
foreign  to  the  genius  of  the  government  under  which  we  live. 
Hov/ever,  papal  marquisates  are  not  likely  to  multiply  to  any 
dangerous  extent,  since  the  only  examples  we  have  before  us 
have  been  granted  as  a  reward  for  extraordinary  money  gifts  to 


592  DANIEL    J.     MURPHY. 

the  church.  This  title  is  the  highest  to  which  the  Catholic  laity 
can  attain.  Its  only  practical  value  consists  in  the  precedence 
which  it  gives  the  bearers  over  the  lesser  clerical  dignitaries  at . 
the  religious  ceremonies  in  Rome  during  Holy  Week,  and  the 
right  to  be  represented  at  the  papal  court.  No  religious  or  other 
ceremonies  are  deemed  essential  in  the  bestowal  of  this  dignity, 
and  this  patent  of  nobility  was  in  fact  received  by  Mr.  Murphy 
when  he  was  in  San  Francisco.  Formerly,  when  the  pope's 
temporal  power  was  recognized,  this  title  of  marquis  was  much 
sought  after  by  Europeans. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  such  a  naturally  modest  gentle- 
man as  Mr.  Murphy  should  develop  such  a  craving  for  titles,  not 
only  for  himself,  but  for  his  family.  On  the  igth  of  July,  1883,  his 
daughter,  Miss  Anita  Theresa,  was  married  in  London  to  Sir 
Charles  Michael  Wolseley,  Baronet.  He  is  the  representative  of 
one  of  the  oldest  Roman  Catholic  families  in  England,  claiming- 
Henry  VIII's  great  cardinal  as  their  ancestor.  The  family  seat  is 
in  Staffordshire;  the  property  attached  to  it  is  neither  large  nor 
valuable,  and  a  baronet  is  the  lowest  hereditary  title  in  England — 
yet  to  one  fond  of  titles  it  is  better  than  nothing!  The  bride- 
groom's aunt,  a  daughter  of  the  seventh  baronet,  was  wife  of  the 
Marquis  Lousada,  who  was  many  years  British  consul  in  Boston 
and  who  died  there  in  1870.  It  was  gravely  added  in  the  English 
papers  which  described  the  wedding  that  "  the  pope  sent  his  bless- 
ing to  the  newly  wedded  pair" — Sir  Charles  and  Miss  Murphy. 
Mrs.  Murphy  is  said  to  be  a  very  influential  person  in  the  devoted 
Catholic  circles  of  Paris  and  London.  During  the  year  1883  Mr. 
Murphy  had  a  large  picture  painted,  representing  the  presenta- 
tion of  himself  and  family  to  the  Pope. 


SAMUEL   STOCKTON    WHITE,   D.   D.   S. 

SAMUEL  S.  WHITE  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  being  born  in 
Hulmeville,  Bucks  county,  June  19,  1822  ;  but  on  the  death  of  his 
father.,  which  occurred  when  the  boy  was  only  eight  years  old,  his 
mother  removed  to  Burlington,  New  lersey.  At  this  time  his 
uncle,  S.  VV.  Stockton,  of  Philadelphia,  was  manufacturing  mineral 
teeth,  then  a  great  novelty  in  the  profession,  and  to  this  relative 
Samuel  was  indentured  when  about  fourteen  to  learn  "the  art  and 
mystery  of  dentistry."  Here  he  worked  faithfully  for  seven  years, 
and  on  attaining  his  majority  he  was  given  the  oversight  of  the 
manufacturing  department,  and  also  practised  to  some  extent  in 
the  office. 

In  1844  Mr.  White  began  in  a  small  way  to  manufacture  teeth 
on  his  own  account.  He  opened  an  office  for  general  practice  on 
the  corner  of  Seventh  and  Race  streets :  while  in  the  attic  he  ex- 
perimented on  teeth-making,  and  succeeded  in  producing  a  finer 
and  more  artistic  article  than  his  uncle  had  yet  succeeded  in  doing. 
He  soon  after  removed  to  more  commodious  apartments  on  Race 
street.  The  next  year  the  well-known  firm  of  "  Jones,  White  & 
McCurdy  "  was  formed,  and  subsequently  branch  houses  were 
established  in  New  York,  Boston,  and  Chicago.  Mr.  Ashael  Jones 
took  charge  of  the  New  York  house,  but  withdrew  from  the  firm 
in  1861  ;  Mr.  White  having  already  purchased  McCurdy's  interest 
in  1859.  In  1868  Dr.  White  erected  the  fine  large  building  on 
the  southeast  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Twelfth  streets,  Philadel- 
phia, for  the  purposes  of  a  factory  and  depot,  not  only  for  teeth 
but  for  all  kinds  of  dental  supplies. 

With  the  passing  years  many  improvements  were  made  both  in 
the  manufacture  of  single  and  block  teeth,  as  also  in  dental  instru- 

(693) 


fa*  SAMUEL     STOCKTON     WHITE,    D.     D.    S. 

ments,  and  every  improvement,  from  whatever  source  it  came,  was 
promptly  adopted  by  Dr.  White,  so  that  the  best  results  of  the 
inventive  faculty  of  the  whole  profession  were  always  to  be  found 
at  his  depots.  In  recognition  of  this  readiness  on  his  part  to  raise 
the  profession  to  the  dignity  of  a  science  he  was  presented  with  a 
testimonial  (in  February,  1847),  signed  by  a  large  number  of  den- 
tists from  different  sections  of  the  country. 

In  1848  he  was  awarded  a  gold  medal  for  the  best  specimens  of 
porcelain  teeth  by  the  American  Institute  of  New  York,  and  the 
first  premium  by  the  Maryland  Institute  of  Baltimore  ;  and  the 
next  year  he  received  a  premium,  in  the  shape  of  a  gold  medal, 
for  "the  greatest  improvement"  in  the  manufacture  of  teeth, 
which  was  offered  by  the  Society  of  Dental  Surgeons  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Dr.  White  was  an  indefatigable  exhibitor:  what  there 
was  of  improvement  in  teeth  or  dental  instruments  and  appli- 
ances, he  wanted  all  the  world  to  know  and  profit  by,  and  he 
nearly  always  took  the  leading  prizes  or  premiums ;  nearly  eighty 
of  these  witnessed  to  his  skill  and  enterprise  ;  and  that  they  were 
really  valuable  and  worthy  of  the  commendation  received,  is 
proven  by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  inventions  were  adopted  by 
European  practitioners,  who  could  not  be  presumed  to  be  pre- 
judiced in  favor  of  American  novelties  in  surgical  instruments. 

When  the  profession  began  to  use  vulcanized  rubber  as  a  base 
for  artificial  teeth,  in  place  of  gold  or  other  metallic  bases,  Dr. 
White,  at  the  sacrifice  of  time,  money,  and  personal  convenience, 
made  a  brave  fight  against  the  Goodyear  Dental  Vulcanite  Com- 
pany, which  he  believed  was  operating  under  an  indefensible  pa- 
tent. This  he  did  more  in  the  interest  of  the  profession  generally 
than  his  own,  and  in  the  consequent  litigation  he  at  one  time  found 
himself  defendant  in  several  personal  suits  with  damages  claimed 
amounting  to  $175,000.  Dr.  White's  interest  was  not  limited  to 
inventions  and  improvements  in  the  dental  profession  ;  whatever 
was  likely  to  benefit  the  community  he  made  his  own,  so  far  as 
sympathy  and  financial  aid  could  do  so.  When  Elisha  Grey,  the 


SAMUEL    STOCKTON     WHITE,    D.    D.<  S.  695 

inventor  of  the  Harmonic  Telegraph,  was  pressed  for  means  to 
make  his  experiments  and  procure  his  patents,  Dr.  White  came 
generously  to  his  aid,  and  enabled  him  to  complete  his  invention. 
The  American  Speaking  Telephone  Company — a  sort  of  after- 
thought to  the  Harmonic  Telegraph — found  him  one  of  its  earliest 
and  stoutest  supporters,  as  he  was  also  one  of  the  largest  stock- 
holders. This  business  was  very  remunerative,  but  he  was  not  a 
man  to  hoard  money,  and  his  investments  were  mainly  in  such 
companies  as  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  spirit  of  progress  and 
beneficial  to  humanity,  and  not  mere  money-making  machines. 

When  the  government  put  out  its  first  loan,  he  was  among  the 
earliest  purchasers  of  the  bonds ;  was  a  member  of  the  Union 
League  Club,  and  in  every  way  that  a  civilian  could,  assisted  the 
cause  of  the  Union ;  particularly  did  he  help  forward  the  work  of 
the  Sanitary  Commission,  and  aid  in  the  reception  and  entertain- 
ment of  regiments  passing  through  Philadelphia.  His  patriotism 
took  a  similar  form  when  the  great  Centennial  Exposition  was 
planned  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  his  residence.  As  he  had  for- 
merly subscribed  $5,000  to  the  Sanitary  Fair,  so  he  subscribed  the 
same  sum  to  the  International  Fair  of  1876.  Dr.  White's  life  was 
not  like  some  of  the  characters  we  have  sketched  in  this  work — 
full  of  adventures  and  marvellous  changes  of  condition ;  it  was  a 
steady,  uniform  progress  in  prosperity,  which  he  met  in  a  liberal 
spirit,  sharing  his  good  fortune  most  generously  where 'it  was 
needed ;  he  was  a  man  to  be  imitated,  both  in  his  private  virtues 
and  in  the  conscientious  fulfilment  of  his  duties  as  a  citizen.  Dr. 
White  died  in  Paris,  of  congestion  of  the  brain,  on  the  3Oth  of 
December,  1879.  He  was  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 


JOHN    STEVENS. 

ON  the  30th  ot  September,  1880,  there  was  a  remarkable  scene 
in  progress  near  the  river  front  at  Hoboken,  on  the  Hudson  ;  a 
huge  iron  monster,  once  destined  for  the  defence  of  New  York 
harbor,  was  being  sold  at  auction  for  old  iron  ;  although  the  hull 
might  easily  have  been  transformed  into  a  modern  naval  vessel. 
The  history  of  this  unique  object  is  part  of  the  history  of  the 
Stevens  family,  and  will  be  more  particularly  described,  but  the 
better  to  appreciate  the  work  and  its  owner,  we  must  go  back  to 
Revolutionary  times  to  find  the  source  of  the  wealth  which  was 
invested  in  the  "  Stevens  Battery."  During  the  war  of  independ- 
ence, there  was  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey  a  large  landed  pro- 
prietor named  William  Bayard ;  he  was  a  royalist,  and  when  the 
Continental  Congress  passed  the  resolution  that  the  estates  of 
those  who  gave  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  the  country 
should  be  confiscated,  the  lands  of  William  Bayard  were  included 
in  the  official  condemnation.  For  some  time  these  lands  lay  un- 
cultivated. Mr.  Bayard's  property  had  extended  for  a  consider- 
able distance  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  river,  now  mainly 
covered  by  the  city  of  Hoboken,  and  extending  back  to  the 
meadows  below  the  heights.  Soon  after  peace  was  declared, 
Colonel  John  Stevens  bought  some  600  acres  of  this  land ;  about 
half  on  the  river  front  and  half  on  the  meadows  or  low  ground. 
This  large  property  descended  to  Mr.  Robert  Stevens.  Several 
years  before  Fulton  ran  the  "  Clairmont "  on  the  Hudson,  Mr.  R. 
Stevens  built  a  small  steamboat,  and  made  several  successful  trips 
with  it ;  it  had  defects,  but  was  really  practicable,  and  only  needed  a 
few- improvements  to  have  forestalled  the  fame  of  Fulton.  This 
boat  was  named  the  "  John  Stevens ;  "  and  anybody  credulous  of  this 
(696) 


JOHN     STEVENS.  69; 

priority  of  claim  can  see  the  veritable,  original  engine  of  this 
boat  in  the  "  Stevens'  Institute  of  Technology,"  Hoboken,  where  it 
is  religiously  preserved,  enclosed  in  a  glass  case,  in  the  mechanical 
department. 

Several  of  the  elder  members  of  this  family  appear  to  have  had 
not  only  a  taste  for  mechanics,  but  really  great  mechanical  skill.  It 
is  to  Mr.  Robert  Stevens  that  the  conception  of  the  great  battery 
was  due,  but  his  brothers,  J.  C.  and  Edwin  A.,  participated  in  his 
enthusiasm  in  regard  to  it,  and  it  was  brought  nearly  to  completion 
by  the  latter  gentleman.  The  keel  of  this  battery  was  laid  in  1843, 
and  was  in  its  essential  principle  a  forerunner  of  our  armored 
monitors,  having  also  turrets  like  them ;  but  during  the  progress 
of  its  construction  the  science  of  projectiles  had  advanced  so 
rapidly,  that  in  1854  the  old  designs  were  abandoned  and  the 
whole  work  was  begun  anew.  The  length  of  the  vessel  was  410 
feet  over  all,  and  forty-five  feet  beam,  with  a  draught  of  twenty- 
two  feet,  and  6,000  tons  displacement.  Very  powerful  engines 
were  designed,  so  as  to  give  this  battery  a  speed  of  nearly  six- 
teen knots  an  hour.  It  was  supposed  that  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment would  have  bought  this  valuable  structure  for  the  defence 
of  the  mercantile  metropolis  of  the  country;  the  late  General 
Gaines,  of  the  United  States  army,  was  an  ardent  advocate  of 
the  uses  to  which  this  battery  might  be  put  in  connection  with  a 
land  force,  but  official  naval  prejudice  was  too  much  for  anything, 
however  good,  that  was  not  first  floated  in  a  government  navy 
yard.  The  construction  of  this  huge  battery  cost  a  fortune  before 
it  was  completed,  and  its  owner  left  at  his  decease  $1,000,000  with 
which  to  finish  it ;  but  though  a  very  expensive  hobby,  Mr.  E.  A. 
Stevens'  wealth  increased  so  fast  by  the  rise  in  value  of  his  real 
estate,  that  the  expense  it  entailed  was  not  felt  by  him,  or  missed 
by  his  heirs. 

Mr.  Robert  Stevens  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  Camden 
and  Amboy,  and  the  New  Jersey  railroads,  and  the  late  Edwin  A. 
was  a  director  in  the  former,  and  also  an  active  manager ;  he  was 


£og  JOHN     STEVENS. 

also  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railrc*^.  Ke 
had  a  strong  penchant  for  applying  the  new  motive  power,  steam, 
to  all  possible  purposes,  and  was  in  his  day  esteemed  one  of  the 
most  active  business  men  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Edwin  A.  Stevens  died  in  1868,  leaving  property  valued  at 
$40,000,000.  He  made  many  charitable  bequests  and  legacies,  the 
principal  being  the  land  and  endowment  fund  "  For  an  Institution 
of  Learning."  For  this  purpose  his  will  directs  that  "All  that 
block  of  land  in  Hoboken,  bounded  by  Hudson  street,  River  street 
and  Sixth  street,  and  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  in  stocks  and  bonds  of  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad 
Company,"  should  be  devoted  to  this  object.  He  also  directed 
that  the  building  should  be  of  "  some  substantial,  but  economical 
material,  such  as  trap-rock — a  plain  building  or  buildings."  He 
desired  that  these  buildings  should  be  erected  and  the  institution 
put  in  operation  "  within  three  years  "  after  his  decease. 

If  Mr.  Stevens  had  desired  his  will  to  be  strictly  carried  out  in 
all  particulars,  he  should  have  imitated  Matthew  Vassar  and  Peter 
Cooper,  and  seen  to  its  execution  in  his  lifetime.  His  will  evi- 
dently contemplated  an  institution  of  learning  for  both  sexes ;  the 
Institute  of  Technology  is  limited  to  one.  These  are  Mr.  Stevens' 
exact  words :  "  The  tuition  is  not  to  be  wholly  free,  except  to  such 
youth  as  said  acting  trustees  shall  direct;  nor  is  it  my  intention 
that  the  cost  of  tuition  of  any  youth  shall  be  wholly  paid  by  him 
or  her.  The  proportion  of  payment  by  each  youth  I  leave  to  the 
discretion  of  the  acting  trustee  or  trustees."  The  Stevens'  Insti- 
tute of  Technology  is  a  noble  institution,  but  its  benefits  are  ex- 
clusively enjoyed  by  male  youth.  The  lot  of  ground  on  which  it 
stands  is  425  feet  by  200,  the  land  and  endowment  fund  being 
valued  at  $650,000.  The  course  of  instruction  includes  the  De- 
partments of  Mathematics  and  Mechanics,  Belles  Lettres,  Lan- 
guages (French  and  German),  Physics,  Mechanical  Drawing,  and 
Mechanical  Engineering.  Recently  there  has  been  added  a  De- 
partment of  Applied  Electricity;  the  scientific  and  mechanical 


JOHN     STEVENS.  699 

apparatus  is  ample  and  of  the  most  approved  make.  Mr.  Edwin 
A.  Stevens  also  gave  the  land  on  which  the  public  schools  of 
Hoboken  stand:  his  will  bears  the  date  of  April  isth,  1867.  The 
family  mansion  and  estate  lie  contiguous  to  the  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology. Thirty  acres  of  exquisitely  cultivated  land  surround  the 
dwelling,  which  is  situated  on  an  elevated  projection  of  land  known 
as  Castle  Point,  the  house  itself  being  somewhat  in  the  castellated 
form.  The  present  home  was  built  about  twenty-five  years  ago, 
the  original  homestead  still  remaining  on  the  place  but  devoted  to 
other  purposes.  From  the  front  and  both  sides  of  the  house  the 
most  lovely  views  are  obtained  of  the  Hudson,  New  York  city,  the 
bay  and  Narrows;  the  rear  overlooks  a  part  of  Hoboken,  and 
opens  up  views  beyond  to  the  Blue  Hills  of  Jersey ;  a  beautiful 
curving  road  passes  from  the  street,  under  a  massive  archway,  and 
reaches  the  noble  mansion  through  well-kept  lawns,  old  forest 
trees,  flowers,  and  a  profusion  of  statuary;  extensive  green- 
houses, well  filled,  attract  the  eye.  Within,  the  main  reception- 
room  forms  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the  conventional  drawing-room ; 
it  is  of  circular  shape,  of  noble  proportions,  and  is  lit  through  a 
lofty  dome ;  the  whole  wall-space  being  devoted  to  works  of  art, 
paintings,  and  statuary,  the  latter  in  niches  in  the  massive  walls. 
In  this  beautiful  home  reside  the  widow  and  children  of  Mr.  E.  A. 
Stevens,  who  left  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  Mrs.  Stevens  is  a 
very  benevolent  lady;  she  recently  gave  $10,000  for  St.  Paul's 
School,  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire. 

JOHN  STEVENS,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in  1856,  and  is  conse- 
quently now  about  twenty-seven  years  of  age ;  he  was  through  his 
early  youth  very  delicate,  but  is  now  in  very  fair  health.  He  was 
married  in  June,  1883,  and  is  now  in  Europe  with  his  bride,  who 
was  a  Miss  M'Guire,  of  Virginia.  Mr.  John  Stevens  is  a  person 
of  quiet  literary  tastes,  and  does  not  appear  to  have  inherited  the 
mechanical  and  business  enterprise  of  his  father.  But  why  should 
he  seek  to  augment  a  fortune  already  too  large  to  be  easily 
managed  ? 


~OQ  JOHN     STEVENS. 

The  fortune  left  by  the  late  E.  A.  Stevens  being  largely  in  real 
estate,  is  constantly  increasing  in  value,  and  the  heirs  have  com- 
bined their  interests  and  formed  among  themselves  an  incorporated 
association,  called  the  "  Hoboken  Land  Improvement  Company," 
which  is  managed  by  their  agent ;  it  was  for  the  value  of  the  land 
which  it  occupied,  and  which  by  its  presence  was  rendered  unsal- 
able, that  the  present  heirs  of  E.  A.  Stevens  finally  sold  and  got 
rid  of  the  famous  battery,  which  had  cost  about  $2,000,000,  and 
which  was  sold  for  $55,000.     At  one  time,  1878,  the  Russian  gov- 
ernment offered  $125,000  for  it,  but  the  United  States  Government 
would  not  permit  the  sale  of  an  armed  vessel  to  be  used  against 
a  friendly  power.     It  was  supposed  that  the  iron  would  be  finally 
used   in    the   construction   of  the    Hudson    River   Tunnel.      Mr. 
Stevens  had  bequeathed  this  battery  to  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
but  the  State  made  no  use  of  it,  and  as  it  occupied  valuable  ground, 
the  heirs  brought  suit  to  have  the  title  declared  to  be  in  them. 
This  the  New  Jersey  courts  refused  to  do,  and  the  heirs  then  ap- 
plied to  the  United  States  Court.     In  this  appeal  they  alleged  that 
$2,000,000  had  been  already  spent  upon  it,  and  that  it  was  still 
incomplete,  and  to  put  it  into  a  usable  condition  would  require  at 
least  an  additional  $500,000.     The  order  for  the  sale  was  finally 
granted  by  a  Master  in  Chancery  of  New  Jersey ;  and  thus  has 
disappeared,    scattered   in    fragments,  a    costly   mechanical    con- 
trivance, originated  more  than  fifty  years  ago  ;  the  conception  of  a 
brave,  ingenious  man,  the  object  of  lavish  expenditure  by  another 
member  of  the  same  family,  and  undoubtedly  a  contrivance  which, 
if  it  had  been  adopted  by  the  government,  would  have  been  worth 
more  for  actual  defence  than  any  fort  in  the  harbor,  which  existed 
at  the  time  it  was  first  offered  to  the  navy  department.    Yet  young 
John  Stevens  is  to  be  congratulated  that  his  magnificent  estate  is 
at  last  relieved  from  this  white   elephant,  which  has  sat  during 
all  his   lifetime,  like  an    incubus  on   the  land,  now  worth  twice 
$40,000,000. 


WM.  SHARON. 


HON.  WILLIAM    SHARON. 

MR.  SHARON  was  not  one  of  those  California  millionaires  who 
rushed  wildly  towards  the  gold-fields,  scarcely  knowing  whither 
they  went,  so  that  they  followed  the  loudest  rumors.  He  was 
several  years  in  the  "  Golden  State "  before  he  meddled  with 
mines,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  His  antecedents  too  were 
different  from  many  of  that  first  grand  army  of  fortune-hunters. 
He  was  at  least  a  native  American,  born  of  Quaker  stock  in 
Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  in  1821,  but  his  ancestors  had  travelled 
thither  from  Pennsylvania,  they  being  among  the  first  settlers  of 
that  State,  having  accompanied  William  Penn  with  his  first  ship- 
load of  colonists.  William's  parents  were  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances, and  he  received  a  collegiate  education,  and  then  studied 
law,  intending  to  make  that  his  profession ;  he  did  practise  it  for 
some  years,  first  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  later  in  Carrolton, 
Illinois,  where  he  was  residing  when  the  great  gold  discovery  was 
announced.  He  was  quite  willing  that  others  should  do  the  dig- 
ging, and  surmised  that  there  might  be  quite  as  much  profit  in 
supplying  the  wants  of  those  who  did,  as  by  participating  in  the 
exposure  and  fatigues  of  the  pioneer.  Instead,  therefore,  of  buy- 
ing pick  and  shovel  for  himself  he  purchased  a  stock  of  dry  goods, 
principally  men's  clothing,  and  opened  a  store  in  Sacramento,  a 
sort  of  half-way  house  between  San  Francisco  and  the  mines. 
Here  he  did  remarkably  well,  until  the  disastrous  floods  of  1849-50, 
which  swept  his  entire  stock  down  the  river  and  into  the  Pacific 
ocean.  Not  caring  to  subject  himself  to  the  possible  repetition 
of  such  a  disaster,  he  concluded  to  remove  to  San  Francisco  and 
open  a  business  there. 

Not  being  able   to   replenish   his  stock  without   the  delay  of 

(701) 


j02  HON.    WILLIAM     SHARON. 

awaiting  consignments  from  the  East — then  a  tedious  interim 
existing  between  orders  sent  and  their  fulfilment — a  happy  idea 
struck  him.  He  would  open  a  real  estate  office:  that  took  neither 
time  nor  capital ;  there  was  plenty  of  business  of  this  kind,  and 
his  knowledge  of  law  would  greatly  assist  him  in  its  prosecution, 
especially  as  from  the  shifting  nature  of  the  population  of  that 
period,  and  the  frequent  intervention  of  Mexican  claimants, 
questions  of  law  often  occurred  in  these  hasty  purchases  and  con- 
veyances. 

Mr.  Sharon  was  some  fourteen  years  in  making  his  first  $150,- 
ooo,  and  not  until  he  had  realized  about  that  amount  did  he  begin 
to  speculate  in  mining  stocks ;  and  in  these  first  essays  he  was 
not  successful :  so  far  as  he  was  concerned  his  hardly  earned 
fortune  might  as  well  have  followed  his  stock  of  dry  goods  and 
become  the  jetsam  and  flotsam  of  the  sea,  for  it  as  effectually 
disappeared  from  his  grasp.  But  his  losses  were  not  attributed 
to  incapacity,  as  was  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  at  this  juncture  he 
was  invited  by  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  California  to  go  to 
Virginia  City  to  look  after  some  of  their  interests  in  that  place. 
In  this  affair  he  accomplished  all  that  was  hoped  for,  and  per- 
ceiving the  advantages  which  would  accrue  to  all  parties  con- 
cerned, he  urged  upon  the  directors  the  advisability  of  establish- 
ing a  branch  office  there,  which  was  speedily  done,  Mr.  Sharon 
being  placed  at  the  head  of  the  new  concern,  with  unrestricted 
powers.  This  gave  him  his  opportunity.  Remaining  for  several 
years  in  this  position,  he  became  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
mining  affairs  of  Nevada,  and  with  his  stock  of  experience  greatly 
enlarged,  he  decided  once  more  to  venture  among  the  speculators 
in  stocks.  On  his  resignation  of  his  trust  he  placed  the  affairs  of 
the  branch  bank  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Ralston,  a  faithful  and 
capable  man. 

When  Mr.  Sharon  first  went  to  Nevada  on  behalf  of  the  Bank 
of  California  it  was  just  on  the  eve  of  a  period  of  hard  times ; 
the  very  next  year  the  mines  proved  unremunerative ;  the  mills 


HON.    WILLIAM     SHARON.  703 

were  stopped  and  general  gloom  pervaded  the  place.  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Ralston,  then  President  of  the  Bank  of  California,  in  San 
Francisco,  had  lent  large  sums  of  money  to  the  several  companies 
f  engaged  in  these  non-paying  mines ;  disaster  stared  him  in  the 
face,  and  he  came  out  personally  to  Nevada  to  consult  Mr.  Sharon, 
and  see  for  himself  what  the  prospect  really  was  of  realizing  on 
his  speculative  investments.  To  Mr.  Ralston  there  appeared,  after 
investigation,  only  one  possible  mode  of  relief,  and  that  was  to 
find  some  individual  who  would  assume  the  liabilities  of  the  bank 
and  return  to  that  institution  the  sums  loaned;  if  he  could  only 
find  the  man  ready  to  do  this  he  proposed  to  give. a  wide  margin 
of  time  in  which  to  cover  the  transaction. 

Mr.  Sharon  rose  to  the  situation.  He  offered  to  assume  all  the 
obligations  of  the  bank  on  condition  of  receiving  a  considerable 
sum  in  hand  to  prosecute  the  work  on  certain  drifts,  and  to  have 
two  years'  time  in  which  to  pay  up  the  whole.  This  proposition 
was  gratefully  accepted,  and  Mr.  Ralston  went  back  to  California 
relieved,  but  only  for  a  time — it  was  the  beginning  of  the  flood 
,  which  was  to  finally  sweep  him  away. 

Mr.  Sharon  prospected  for  a  new  ledge  and  came  upon  one  of 
the  most  favorable  "  finds "  ever  developed  up  to  that  time  in 
Storey  county.  Activity  was  resumed  and  the  whole  region  felt 
the  effect  of  the  new  impetus.  Instead  of  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
in  less  than  six  months  Mr.  Sharon  had  paid  back  all  his  indebted- 
ness to  the  Bank  of  California  and  made  the  neat  sum  of  $750,- 
ooo  for  himself.  The  fame  of  his  financial  skill  rose  to  par.  He 
was  elected  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  California,  and  at  that  time 
no  one  stood  higher  in  the  financial  circles  of  the  Pacific  coast, 
as  a  shrewd  and  enterprising  manager,  than  did  William  Sharon. 
He  still  continued  the  management  of  the  branch  banks  in 
Nevada. 

But  a  time  came  when  the  really  great  powers  of  his  mind  were 
drawn  upon  in  a  way  demanding  not  only  the  exercise  of  great 
financial  talent,  but  that  far  greater  skill  which  knows  how  to  sway 


•JQA  HON.    WILLIAM     SHARON. 

the  minds  of  other  men— to  look  a  great  disaster  in  the  face,  and 
against  the  surging  tide  of  excited,  angry  and  despairing  feeling  to 
wring  fresh  victories  out  of  defeat. 

When  the  Bank  of  California  suspended,  in  that  dreadful 
August  of  1875,  the  terror  and  excitement  was  indescribable;  so 
many  people  looked  ruin  in  the  face,  the  panic  threatened  to  be 
so  wide-spread,  so  many  interests  were  paralyzed,  that  the  bravest 
financiers  stood  still  in  dismay,  not  knowing  what  step  to  take  next. 
At  this  crisis,  when  the  terrible  news  was  added  to  the  general 
gloom  that  the  "  great-hearted  Ralston  "  was  no  more,  Mr.  Sharon 
proved  himself  equal  to  the  emergency.  At  his  suggestion  the 
meetings  of  the  Stock  Board  with  which  he  was  connected,  which 
could  only  under  the  circumstances  have  added  new  perplexities 
to  the  public  excitement,  were  adjourned  sine  die.  He  next  called 
a  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  inviting  other  capitalists  to  be 
present,  to  consider  what  was  to  be  done  to  sustain  the  credit  of 
the  State,  for  this  was  at  stake.  The  Bank  of  California  had 
direct  relations  with  all  the  principal  cities  in  Europe,  and  this 
suspension  would  be  felt  abroad  as  a  most  serious  blow  to  the 
credit  of  California.  The  meeting  was  largely  attended,  but  little 
hope  or  expectation  was  to  be  seen  in  the  anxious,  gloomy  coun- 
tenances, either  of  the  officers  of  the  institution  or  the  faces  of 
creditors.  Gloom  like  a  death  pall  covered  the  assembly.  Firmly, 
slowly,  confidently  Mr.  Sharon  arose  to  address  the  meeting.  He 
succinctly  sketched  the  history  of  the  bank :  what  it  had  done  for 
San  Francisco,  and  what  for  the  State.  He  recalled  to  those 
present  the  aid  it  had  given  them  in  urgent  emergencies,  and 
dilated  upon  the  moral  shock  which  the  failure  to  redeem  its 
obligations  would  inflict  to  the  farthest  ramifications  of  its  busi- 
ness ties ;  and  he  ended  one  of  the  most  thrilling  appeals  ever 
addressed  to  a  meeting  of  business  men,  by  entreating  capitalists 
to  come  forward  and  save  the  fair  fame  of  the  State  by  re-estab- 
lishing the  bank  on  a  firm  foundation;  to  assess  themselves  to 
secure  the  creditors,  and  finally  presented  a  plan  by  which  sub- 


HON.    WILLIAM     SHARON.  .        705 

scribers  might  eventually  be  reimbursed  while  saving  the  business 
interests  of  the  place  from  utter  collapse. 

The  orator  set  the  example  of  subscribing  on  the  spot  a  munifi- 
cent sum  ;  the  effect  was  contagious ;  others  quickly  followed. 
The  bank  was  re-established;  the  credit  of  California  saved.  :, 

Mr.  Sharon  was  the  projector  of  the  "Virginia  (Nevada)  & 
Tucker  Railroad;"  he  induced  the  people  of  Washoe  to  subscribe 
$500,000  towards  its  construction  ;  having  used  this  sum  as  far  as 
it  would  go,  he  then  succeeded  in  mortgaging  what  was  already 
built  for  sufficient  to  construct  the  rest.  Mr.  Sharon  was  the  prin- 
cipal owner  of  the  Palace  Hotel,  built  by  the  late  William  C.  Rals- 
ton in  San  Francisco,  the  largest  and  most  costly  hotel  on  the  con- 
tinent ;  he  also  owned  an  immense  deal  of  real  estate  in  other  parts 
of  the  city,  as  elsewhere  in  the  State  and  in  Nevada.  This  Palace 
Hotel  was  constructed  of  iron  and  brick,  and  was  nine  stories  in 
height ;  the  principal  facade  is  on  Market  street  near  Montgomery; 
the  numerous  bay-windows  with  railings  have  caused  it  to  be 
likened  to  a  monster  bird-cage.  Its  principal  charm  is  the  central 
internal  court,  which  has  a  glass  roof;  it  is  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  promenade-galleries ;  the  ground-floor  is  covered  with  an  as- 
phalt pavement,  contains  a  fountain  and  spaces  for  groups  of 
flowers ;  there  is  a  drive-way  for  carriages  within,  where  many 
visitors  come  twice  a  week  to  hear  music  performed  by  a  band. 
At  night  this  central  rendezvous  is  particularly  brilliant,  being  illu- 
minated by  electricity,  which  causes  a  dazzling  reflection  from  the 
hundreds  of  white  pillars  sustaining  the  galleries. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  events  which  occurred  in  many 
years  on  the  Pacific  coast  was  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Sharon's 
daughter,  Flora  Emeline,  in  the  last  week  of  December,  1880. 
This  young  lady,  who  had  been  a  recognized  belle  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  who  might  be  said  to  have  had  the  choice  of  an'unlimited 
number  of  admirers  of  native  growth,  was  at  last  led  captive  by 
the  fascinations  of  an  English  baronet,  Sir  Thomas  George  Fermor 
Hesketh,  who  happened  to  drop  into  the  bay  of  San  Francisco 

45 


706  HON.    WILLIAM     SHARON. 

with  his  handsome  steam-yacht,  the  "  Lancashire  Witch,"  in  which 
he  was  then  making  the  tour  of  the  world.  The  wedding,  which 
was  a  splendid  affair,  took  place  at  Senator  Sharon's  country- 
house  at  Belmont,  a  fashionable  rendezvous  of  wealthy  Califor- 
nians,  some  miles  south  of  San  Francisco,  on  the  line  of  the  San 
Jose  Railroad.  Over  one  thousand  guests  were  invited;  and  a 
special  train  conveyed  the  guests  from  the  city  to  Belmont,  where 
the  festivities  were  conducted  on  a  gorgeous  scale.  Shortly  after 
the  bridal  couple  departed  for  the  husband's  home  in  England, 
came  back  glowing  accounts  of  the  reception  of  Sir  Thomas  and 
his  bride  at  his  hereditary  seat,  Rufford  Hall,  Lancashire.  He 
had  been  two  years  absent  on  his  travels,  and  the  whole  com- 
munity joined  in  welcoming  home  the  Lord  of  the  Manor  and  his 
California  bride.  A  graceful  tribute  to  the  nationality  of  the 
young  wife  was  an  arch  of  evergreens  on  which  was  a  shield  and 
flags ;  on  the  former,  upon  a  white  ground,  were  lettered  words  in 
blue,  with  red  initials,  thus  combining  the  American  national  col- 
ors in  the  inscription:  "Welcome  to  Sir  Thomas  and  Lady  Hes- 
keth,"  the  whole  being  surmounted  by  the  Union  Jack  and  the 
Stars  and  Stripes. 

Mr.  Sharon  concluded,  in  1882,  a  long  defensive  litigation 
against  the  widow  of  the  late  William  C.  Ralston  by  a  compromise. 
Just  before  the  sudden  death  of  the  latter  he  had  put  into  the 
hands  of  his  friend,  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  creditors  and  the 
benefit  of  his  family,  deeds  and  securities  of  unknown  value,  of 
farming  lands  and  other  property,  but  which  was  generally  be- 
lieved to  be  of  value  far  in  excess  of  all  his  indebtedness.  The 
use  of  these  assets  for  seven  years  without  an  accounting  would 
have  made  the  fortune  of  many  a  man  not  already  a  millionaire. 
The  terms  of  this  compromise  are  stated  in  the  sketch  of  William 
C.  Ralston. 

Mr.  Sharon  was  estimated  to  be  worth  from  $70,000,000  to 
$80,000,000.  In  1874  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  which  position  he  filled  for  the  full  term  of  six  years.  He 
died  in  San  Francisco,  November  14,  1885. 


ADOLPH   SUTRO. 

THERE  has  never  been  any  single  mining  operation,  in  California 
or  Nevada,  except  the  discovery  of  the  "  bonanza  "  lodes,  which 
has  excited  so  much  interest,  not  only  on  the  spot  where  the  work 
was  'progressing,  but  wherever  the  phrase  "mining  stock"  had  a 
meaning,  as  the  prosecution  of  the  "  Sutro  tunnel."  The  idea  in- 
volved was  gigantic  in  its  proportions,  and  the  money  it  was  des- 
tined to  swallow  up  was  clearly  seen  by  those  invited  to  take  a 
share  in  the  work.  The  only  problem  to  be  solved  was,  would  it 
pay  when  completed  ?  Few  dared  to  risk  their  money  in  the  pro- 
ject, when  it  was  first  proposed  to  tunnel  the  Washoe  hills,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Carson  river.  But  there  was  one  man  unwavering  in 
the  faith  that  an  extended  odit,  or  horizontal  tunnel,  would  tap  the 
Comstock  lode  in  its  grand  reservoir,  and  repay  the  working  with 
a  magnificence  yet  undreamed  of  by  the  ordinary  modes  of  attack, 
and  that  was  Adolph  Sutro. 

Mr.  Sutro  is  a  native  of  France,  born  about  1818  (of  the 
Hebrew  race),  and  a  person  of  education,  of  experience  an4 
diplomatic  ability.  Before  coming  to  California  he  had  travelled 
extensively  in  Europe,  and,  unlike  so  many  of  the  emigrants  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  had  made  mineralogy  a  study  in  the  best  polytechnic 
schools  of  his  native  land  ;  he  was  thus  better  prepared  for  practi- 
cal observation  than  the  majority  who  had  preceded  him. 

When  he  first  arrived  in  San  Francisco  he  had  not  the  capital 
which  he  deemed  necessary  to  make  a  beginning  in  the  mining 
districts.  He  was  not  of  that  buoyant  excitable  class,  who  were 
ready  to  take  their  picks  on  their  shoulders  and  go  forth  at  a  ven- 
ture, vaguely  prospecting  here  and  there  without  any  definite  ideas 
of  what  they  were  to  expect — hope,  not  knowledge,  leading  them 

(707) 


yO8  ADOLPH    SUTRO. 

on.  Mr.  Sutro  took  time  to  learn  from  the  experience  of  others ; 
he  took  time  to  read,  to  inquire,  to  explore  to  a  certain  extent, 
while  still  occupying  himself  with  a  retail  business  in  tobacco,  in 
which,  if  the  sums  he  dealt  with  were  small,  his  sales  were  rapid, 
and  bore  a  large  profit  in  proportion  to  the  cost,  a  profit  consider- 
ably more  than  "  cent  per  cent."  He  had  visited  Nevada  and  in- 
spected all  the  most  promising  mines  of  that  marvelous  district  in 
Storey  county,  and  conceived  the  idea  of  an  immense  tunnel 
through  the  heart  of  the  mountain,  in  which  was  hidden  the 
famous  Comstock  lode.  In  1804  he  had  so  far  matured  his  idea 
as  to  set  about  making  it  a  reality,  and  since  that  time,  in  pursu- 
ance of  his  object,  he  made  twenty  or  more  voyages  to  Europe, 
for  the  purpose  of  interesting  capitalists  there  in  his  great  work  ; 
but  his  first  practical  step  was  to  procure  from  the  Legislature  of 
Nevada  the  right  of  way  "  for  the  construction  of  a  draining  and 
mining  tunnel,"  and  this  he  obtained  in  February  of  1865.  Many 
of  the  mines  had  suffered  much  from  flooding ;  work  was  con- 
stantly being  interrupted,  first  in  one  mine  and  then  in  another, 
while  expensive  machinery  had  to  be  brought  from  a  distance  to 
pump  the  water  out,  and  in  not  a  few  instances  labor  seemed  in- 
terminable, so  that  individuals  and  companies  abandoned  their 
claims  rather  than  submit  to  the  expense  and  delay  of  exhausting 
•the  water.  Mr.  Sutro's  tunnel  plan,  it  will  be  seen,  was  intended 
to  strike  this  item  of  annoyance  at  its  source,  and  divert  the  sub- 
terranean springs  and  streams  away  from  the  mines  already- 
opened,  and  to  use  the  same  water  as  a  motive  power  in  propel- 
ling needed -machinery.  Having  procured  his  franchise,  the  next 
step  was  to  persuade  the  several  companies  to  take  shares  in  the 
work.  Of  course  there  were  many  objections;  difficulties  of  all 
sorts  were  pointed  out  to  the  projector ;  it  was  foreseen  that  the 
work  would  consume  much  time ;  to  the  minds  of  most  the  bene- 
fits were  uncertain  ;  capital  lagged.  Mr.  Sutro  issued  a  pamphlet, 
in  which,  at  considerable  length,  he  answered  all  the  current  objec- 
tions in  a  very  able  and  convincing  manner.  It  had  its  effect,  and 


ADOLPH     SUTRO.  709 

nearly  all  the  companies  who  were  in  a  position  to  be  benefited,  if 
the  tunnel  scheme  succeeded,  at  last  yielded  to  the  pressure,  and 
entered  into  arrangements  with  Mr.  Sutro.  These  agreements 
were  all  similar  in  purport,  and  provided  that  "a  royalty  of  two 
dollars  per  ton  should  be  paid  on  all  the  ore,  extracted  from  the 
mines  drained,  benefited  or  developed  by  the  tunnel,  or  which 
should  be  milled  or  sold,  for  all  time  to  come."  A  tariff  for  freight 
and  passengers  through  the  tunnel  was  also  fixed.  And  it  shows 
with  what  good  judgment  these  agreements  were  prepared  by 
Mr.  'Sutro  when  the  fact  is  considered,  that  in  the  practical  work- 
ings no  essential  alteration  has  ever  been  found  necessary.  But 
the  local  Legislature  could  not  grant  all  that  was  necessary  to  the 
full  development  of  Mr.  Sutro's  plan,  for  the  fee  to  the  mines  re- 
sided in  the  general  government;  and  the  energetic  deviser  of  the 
plan  was  hence  obliged  to  apply  to  Congress  for  an  enlargement 
of  privileges ;  in  this  he  was  successful. 

The  following  year,  July  25th,  1866,  Mr.  Sutro  procured  the 
passage  of  an  "  act,  granting  all  the  privileges  petitioned  for,  to 
aid  in  the  construction  of  a  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the 
Comstock  lode."  The,  act  also  enabled  the  grantee  to  buy  the 
necessary  amount  of  land  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel ;  also  to  ac- 
quire ownership  by  purchases  of  any  veins  of  ore  which  he  might 
meet  in  running  the  tunnel.  His  rights  of  proprietorship  being 
thus  guaranteed,  all  Mr.  Sutro  needed  was  the  money,  and  a  very 
sore  need  it  was. 

With  that  energy  which  had  hitherto  marked  every  step  of  his 
progress,  Mr.  Sutro  now  opened  a  subscription  list,  arid  though 
many  still  derided  the  project  as  chimerical,  he  soon  obtained  sub- 
scriptions to  the  amount  of  $100,000,  and  with  this  sum  he  com- 
menced operations  in  the  month  of  October,  1869.  The  initial 
point  is  now  called  Sutro,  and  is  in  Lyon  county.  Sutro  is  now 
quite  a  considerable  settlement,  a  good-sized  village  has  grown 
up  around  it.  This  land,  purchased  from  the  United  States,  lies 
in  the  valley  watered  by  the  Carson  river,  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel 


7  I Q  ADOLPH     SUTRO. 

is  within  the  boundaries  of  the  town,  and  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  course  of  the  stream,  entering  the  mountain  side  at  an 
elevation  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  bed  of  the 
Carson;  its  general  course  is  west-northwest,  and  its  average 
grade  is  three  inch.es  in  one  hundred  feet,  the  minimum  fall  at 
which  water  could  be  rapidly  led  away.  During  the  first  year  a 
cut  of  1,290  feet  was  made,  but  more  efficient  machinery  was 
needed  to  prosecute  the  work  with  greater  rapidity,  and  to  secure, 
of  course,  earlier  profits.  Mr.  Sutro's  mental  and  physical  activity 
was  put  to  the  highest  test  at  this  time;  needing  additional  sup- 
plies of  money,  he  knew  this  could  only  be  obtained  by  procuring 
some  reliable  and  disinterested  testimony  as  to  the  intrinsic  value 
of  the  work.  He  therefore  applied  once  more  to  Congress,  ask- 
ing for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  examine  the  work 
already  done,  to  pronounce  upon  the  feasibility  of  its  completion, 
and  to  estimate  the  cost  of  the  latter. 

The  President  appointed  two  military  engineers  and  a  lay-scien- 
tist to  the  work,  and  in  the  summer  of  1871  this  commission  made 
a  very  thorough  examination  of  the  tunnel  so  far  as  completed, 
and  also  of  the  Comstock  mines.  In  making  their  report  they 
stated  that  "  they  found  the  proposed  work  to  be  entirely  feasible ; 
estimated  the  cost  at  $4,500,000,  and  the  time  necessary  to  com- 
plete it  three  or  four  years — less  if  suitable  machinery  was  em- 
ployed." They  also  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  "  the  Comstock 
lode  was  a  true  fissure-vein  extending  down  into  the  earth  indefi- 
nitely." 

Armed  with  this  favorable  official  report  Mr.  Sutro  was  now  in 
a  position  to  inspire  the  confidence  of  capitalists ;  but  the  funds 
for  the  continuation  of  the  work  were  principally  raised  in  Europe. 
New  vigor  was  infused  into  the  undertaking,  improved  machinery 
was  erected,  and  four  vertical  shafts  were  opened  along  the  line 
of  the  tunnel  before  the  close  of  187-1.  One  was  at  a  distance  of 
nearly  five  thousand  feet  from  the  mouth  and  five  hundred  and 
twenty-two  feet  in  height. 


ADOLPH     SUTRO.  7 1  I 

From  this  shaft  "  drifts  "  were  started  to  the  east  and  west,  and 
connected  with  the  tunnel-heads;  steam-pumps  for  exhausting  the 
water  which  had  accumulated  were  erected,  and  from  the  first 
shaft  the  water  was  ejected  at  the  rate  of  3,000,000  gallons  a 
month  :  other  shafts  were  placed  at  suitable  intervals,  and  in  1872 
an  air-shaft  was  added. 

In  1878—9  the  tunnel  reached  its  destined  limits — fetching  up  at 
the  west  wall  of  the  Comstock  lode.  On  the  8th  of  July  a  con- 
nection was  made  with  the  1,640  feet  level  of  the  "Savage"  mine 
— 20,018  feet  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel.  A  tremendous  rush 
of  air  from  the  tunnel  into  the  Savage  shaft  announced  the  joyful 
news  to  the  miners  at  work  there  in  a  temperature  of  1 20  degrees. 
By  this  happy  ventilation  the  heat  was  soon  reduced  to  90  de- 
grees. Branch  tunnels  soon  followed:  the  "Julia  Mine  Company" 
being  the  first  to  avail  itself  of  all  the  facilities  offered  by  the 
Sutro  tunnel.  This  company  immediately  made  a  contract  with 
the  proprietor  of  the  latter  to  build  a  branch  tunnel  to  the  base  of 
their  shaft,  a  distance  of  1,400  feet,  and  of  the  same  dimensions 
as  the  main  tunnel ;  namely,  eight  feet  in  height  by  ten  in  width. 
Through  this  their  supplies  are  received  and  debris  disposed  of; 
ventilation  secured,  and  the  general  cost  of  operating  their  mine 
sensibly  reduced,  particularly  in  the  matter  of  drainage,  while  the 
atmosphere  is  incalculably  improved  and  rendered  more  fit  for  the 
laborer,  whose  vitality  was  thus  greatly  increased :  of  course  con- 
nection with  other  mines  followed  in  due  course  of  time. 

Water  is  one  of  the  first  necessities  in  a  mining  district,  but 
water  in  the  wrong  place  is  the  cause  not  only  of  a  great  deal  of 
annoyance  but  great  expense — sometimes  cutting  off  access  to 
valuable  veins  of  ore,  or  delaying  the  work  for  an  indefinite 
period.  About  1875—6  there  was  struck  in  the  Savage  mine,  at  a 
depth  of  about  2,200  feet,  a  stream  of  very  hot  water;  it  increased 
rapidly  in  force  ;  all  the  machinery  in  the  mine,  aided  by  the  force- 
pumps  of  the  Hale  &  Norcross  and  the  Gould  &  Curry,  did  not 
suffice  to  keep  the  water  below  the  1,700  feet  level.  For  three 


~  !  2  ADOLPH     SUTRO. 

years  these  enormous  force-pumps  were  run  at  their  utmost  ca- 
pacity, and  still  the  source  appeared  not  to  be  reached;  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  water  was  all  this  time  being  raised  from  1,500 
to  2,000  feet  with  a  force  hitherto  unknown  in  mining  operations. 
It  began  to  look  as  though  the  mine  must  be  abandoned,  but  hap- 
pily at  this  point  the  Sutro  tunnel  was  fast  approaching  the  Sav- 
age ;  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  was  opened ;  a  connection  was 
made  at  a  depth  of  about  1,600  feet,  and  the  water  was  finally  dis- 
charged by  this  great  drain,  and  the  Savage  was  saved  from  in- 
solvency. The  Sutro  tunnel  is  over  four  miles  in  length,  and  had 
cost  when  completed  $6,000,000. 

Aside  from  Mr.  Adolph  Sutro  the  family  have  an  interesting 
history.  The  father,  who  died  in  1847,  was  tne  proprietor  of  a 
large  cloth-factory  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  after  which  his  widow  with 
her  fourteen  children  came  to  this  country  (in  1850)  and  at  first 
settled  in  Baltimore,  while  her  famous  son  was  engaged  on  the 
great  tunnel.  In  1873  she  removed  to  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  was  still  living  in  the  beautiful  Villa  Rosa,  at  Inwood  on  the 
Hudson,  where  she  died  on  the  ist  of  August,  1883.  Only  a  few 
months  previously  the  eightieth  birthday  anniversary  of  this  vig- 
orous old  lady  was  celebrated.  Ten  of  her  children  are  living, 
and  her  direct  descendants  number  over  fifty,  and  of  these  thirty- 
six  were  present,  ranging  from  four  to  sixty-three  years  of  age. 
Mr.  Adolph  Sutro  and  another  son,  with  their  families,  being  in 
Europe,  were  not  represented  on  this  occasion.  Mrs.  Sutro  sat  in 
an  arm-chair  between  two  pedestals,  surmounted  by  large  palms 
and  garlanded  with  roses.  The  various  talents  of  the  family, 
musical  and  literary,  precluded  the  necessity  of  any  foreign  aid  in 
carrying  out  the  elaborate  programme.  A  feature  of  the  menu 
was  the  symbolic  reminiscences  of  different  countries,  cities,  and 
events,  marking  epochs  in  the  long  life  which  was  thus  celebrated. 
One  brilliant  object  was  the  birthday-cake,  bearing  eighty-six  wax 
candles.  Well  might  Mrs.  Rose  Sutro  be  proud  of  her  family,  as 
they  showed  their  pride  in  her. 


FERNANDO  WOOD. 


FERNANDO   WOOD. 

FOR  over  thirty  years  there  was  no  name  more  familiar  to  the 
ears  of  New  Yorkers  than  that  which  heads  this  chapter.  All 
were  not  agreed  as  to  the  measure  of  admiration  which  was  his 
due,  but  none  were  in  any  doubt  as  to  his  ability  as  a  managing 
politician,  or  as  to  his  general  capacity  in  business  affairs.  He  was 
in  some  sort  an  anomaly  to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  the  science 
of  heredity.  One  of  the  most  able  disputants,  and  full  of  that 
kind  of  courage  which  can  control  the  passions  of  the  lowest 
classes,  he  was  in  his  element  as  the  leader  of  the  oft-times  turbu- 
lent members  of  Tammany  and  Mozart  Hall ;  he  could  defy  a 
governor's  warrant,  and  collect  a  posse  of  his  braves  about  him, 
ready  to  use  physical  force  against  the  authority  of  the  State,  or 
entertain  with  elegant  hospitality  the  elite  of  Washington  society  : 
yet  this  man's  own  mother  was  a  quiet  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  his  ancestors  on  both  sides  of  the  house  were 
Quakers — not  ordinary  Quakers  by  any  means,  for  they  were  of 
the  militant  sort.  His  earliest  American  ancestor,  Henry  Wood, 
was  one  of  that  persecuted  sect  who  was  driven  from  the  settle- 
ments of  Massachusetts  by  the  fanaticism  of  the  Puritans.  He  was 
a  ship-builder,  and  when  ordered  from  the  Plymouth  colony  he 
fled  with  his  family  in  a  small  sloop,  sailing  southward,  uncertain 
where  to  settle ;  mistrusting  the  Dutch  colony  on  Manhattan  Isl- 
and he  struck  at  last  the  shore  of  Delaware,  probably  having 
heard  that  there  was  "  toleration "  there :  the  site  where  he 
beached  his  little  sloop  is  now  New  Castle.  The  country  was 
then  (1655)  occupied,  so  far  as  it  was  settled  by  Europeans,  by 
colonists  from  Sweden  ;  but  he  did  not  encroach  upon  their  hospi- 
tality ;  the  land  was  all  before  him  where  to  choose.  He  followed 

(71.3) 


;  1  6  FERNANDO     WOOD. 

sistible  attraction  for  him,  and  being  upon  an  independent  finan- 
cial basis,  he  was  at  liberty  to  gratify  this  passion  without  detriment 
to  his  estate. 

He  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  took  his  seat  in  May,  1841  ; 
he  then  became  known  as  "a  working  member."  He  was  a  ready 
speaker,  and  entered  freely  into  debate  with  old  Congressional  vet- 
erans, losing  nothing  in  the  comparison,  not  even  declining  a 
contest  with  "the  old  man  eloquent,"  John  Quincy  Adams.  At 
this  time  Morse  was  striving  to  get  permission  to  put  up  his  tele- 
graph wires  between  Washington  and  Baltimore,  but  the  House 
of  Representatives,  which  seems  to  have  been  composed  of  any- 
thing but  scientists,  had  refused  to  listen  to  his  "chimerical 
schemes ; "  but  Mr.  Wood  took  up  the  matter  with  enthusiasm, 
and  so  importuned  individual  members  that  he  at  last  procured  a 
vote  in  favor  of  allowing  Mr.  Morse  to  run  his  wires  from  the 
House  to  the  Senate  Chamber  (the  room  now  occupied  by  the 
Supreme  Court),  a  distance  of  some  400  feet;  the  success  of  this 
experiment  could  not  fail  of  course  to  convince- members  of  its 
utility,  and  a  complete  victory  for  "  Morse's  Telegraph  "  was  the 
result,  and  this  event  also  had  the  effect  of  making  Mr.  Wood  very 
popular  in  the  House,  some  of  the  oldest  Whig  members,  like 
Adams  and  Clay,  becoming  his  fast  friends. 

In  1840  Mr.  Wood  had  married  a  daughter  of  J.  L.  Richardson, 
of  Auburn,  New  York.  It  was  perhaps  on  this  account  that  after 
the  close  of  his  first  Congressional  term  he  once  more  abandoned 
politics,  and  reappeared  in  the  lower  part  of  New  York  as  a  ship- 
ping and  commission  merchant.  His  experience  in  Congress  had 
taught  him  many  things,  and  among  others,  his  own  ignorance  of 
many  matters— the  result  of  his  deficient  schooling  in  early  life. 
For  two  years  he  devoted  himself  to  study,  to  better  fit  himself  to 
fill  any  office  which  his  constituents  might  bestow  upon  him.  In 
1850  he  received  the  Democratic  nomination  for  Mayor,  but  was 
defeated  by  the  Whig  candidate ;  this  gave  him  two  years  more 
of  leisure  for  his  books,  which  he  used  with  all  the  ardor  of  an 
ambitious  youth,  though  he  was  now  nearly  forty  years  of  age. 


FERNANDO     WOOD.  ~]~ 


In  1854  Mr.  Wood  was  again  a  candidate  for  the  mayoralty,  and 
was  elected  by  a  plurality  over  three  other  candidates,  who  con- 
tested his  election  that  fall.  To  the  astonishment  of  his  opponents 
and  the  consternation  of  those  who  had  expected  a  lax  administra- 
tion, Mr.  Wood  commenced  his  career  as  mayor  in  the  role  of 
Reformer.  He  issued  a  proclamation  against  liquor-selling  on 
Sunday,  and  actually  closed  2,300  saloons;  the  streets,  which  in 
some  portions  of  the  city  had  been  invested  with  roughs,  were 
entirely  cleared  of  all  dangerous  characters ;  noisy  and  extortion- 
ate hackmen  were  suppressed,  gambling-houses  -closed,  and  the 
streets  properly  cleaned ;  he  personally  investigated  complaints 
made  by  the  poor  and  others,  which  were  entered  in  a  record  of 
his  own  devising,  called  the  "  Mayor's  Complaint  Book."  All  this 
zeal  was  like  a  new  revelation  to  a  majority  of  the  citizens,  and  the 
religious  element  was  gratified  beyond  measure,  and  thought  an 
angel  had  been  elected  mayor  in  the  disguise  of  a  Tammany  Hall 
Democrat.  But  for  his  own  political  security  he  carried  the  re- 
forming spirit  one  step  too  far,  or  at  least  in  a  dangerous  direction 
— he  undertook  to  reform  the  police!  he  assumed  entire  charge 
of  the  department,  declared  that  merit  and  not  reward  for  partisan 
services  should  be  his  rule  in  appointments,  removals,  or  promo- 
tions. There  was  strong  opposition  to  this  course  in  certain 
quarters,  and  a  bill  was  sent  to  Albany  designed  to  thwart  the 
power  of  the  mayor,  but  the  respectable  citizens  of  New  York 
publicly  rallied  in  his  defence,  and  the  bill  failed  to  pass.  In  1855 
there  was  not  a  more  popular  man  in  New  York  than  Fernando 
Wood.  His  name  was  spoken  of  for  governor,  and  a  delegation 
came  from  far-off  Iowa  to  ask  his  consent  to  their  nomination  of 
him  for  President.  In  1856  there  was  a  split  in  the  Democratic 
ranks,  and  four  candidates  for  the  mayoralty  contested  that  office 
with  Mr.  Wood,  but  he  was  re-elected  by  nearly  10,000  plurality, 
although  Fremont  had  carried  the  State  'by  80,000.  It  is  impos- 
sible in  the  limits  of  this  sketch  to  give  a  succinct  history  of  this 
stormy  administration,  but  suffice  it  to  say,  that  after  an  interim 


71 8  FERNANDO     WOOD. 

of  two  years,  Mr.  Wood  was  again  elected  Mayor  of  New  York, 
over  William  F.  Havemeyer  and  George  Opdyke.  It  was  during 
this  term  of  his  mayoralty  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  visited  New 
York  and  was  entertained  by  him. 

When  the  civil  war  broke  out  Mayor  Wood  took  a  unique  posi- 
tion— sending  a  message  to  the  Common  Council  recommending 
that  the  city  of  New  York  should  side  neither  with  the  North  nor 
South,  but  should  "declare  itself  a  free  and  independent  city!" 
This  scheme  was  very  coolly  received,  and  soon  ceased  to  be  men- 
tioned. After  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter,  Mayor  Wood  wheeled  into 
line  with  the  loyal  North,  and  issued  a  ringing  patriotic  proclama- 
tion. Soon  after  this  time,  he  began  to  differ  with  the  manage- 
ment of  Tammany  Hall,  and  the  quarrel  resulted  in  the  withdrawal 
of  Mr.  Wood  and  his  partisans,  and  the  ex-mayor  thereupon 
organized  his  faction  of  the  party  as  "the  Mozart  Hall  Democracy," 
which  became  a  very  powerful  organization.  It  was  by  this  body 
that  Mr.  Wood  was  renominated  for  mayor  in  1861,  but  failed  of 
an  election. 

Mr.  Wood  now  abandoned  local  politics,  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  wider  sphere  of  Washington.  By  a  treaty  of  peace 
between  Mozart  Hall  and  Tammany,  he  became  the  "regular 
Democratic  "  candidate  for  Representative  in  Congress,  and  was 
elected.  Here  he  took  a  prominent  position  as  a  debater,  and  was 
noted  as  one  of  the  shrewdest  parliamentary  tacticians.  In  1864 
he  ran  again  as  an  independent  candidate  and  was  successful, 
repeating  these  tactics  in  1866  with  the  same  result,  and  was 
again  re-elected  to  the  Forty-first  Congress  by  the  large  majority 
of  14,648  votes,  and  to  the  Forty-second  Congress  by  nearly 
16,000  votes.  He  again  represented  New  York  in  the  Forty- 
third,  the  Forty-fourth,  and  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  successively. 
In  every  session  he  was  an  active  worker,  and  was  prominently 
brought  before  the  whole  country  as  Chairman  of  the  important 
Ways  and  Means  Committee,  to  which  he  was  appointed  by 
Speaker  'Randall.  No  one  person  had  as  much  influence  as  he 


FERNANDO     WOOD.  7IQ 

in  procuring  the  passage  of  the  three  per  cent,  funding  bill  in  the 
House.  When  Horace  Greeley  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency, 
he  gave  him  his  cordial  support,  though  probably  no  paper  in 
New  York  had  more  severely  criticised  Mayor  Wood  than  had 
the  Tribune. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Wood  was  a  very  striking  figure  even  among 
the  notabilities  of  Washington ;  he  was  a  spare  man,  six  feet  high, 
and  as  straight  as  an  arrow ;  his  features  were  finely  cut  and  reg- 
ular; he  had  blue  eyes  and  was  very  pale;  his  perfectly  white 
moustache,  more  than  his  general  appearance,  indicated  his  ad- 
vanced age.  He  died  at  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas,  on  the  I4th  of 
February,  1881,  in  the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  Mr.  Wood  was 
married  three  times ;  he  left  eleven  children  and  a  widow,  who 
still  survives  him.  He  left  an  estate  valued  at  several  million 
dollars. 


ALFRED    S.   BARNES. 

MR.  ALFRED  S.  BARNES,  the  head  of  the  great  school-book  pub- 
lishing house  in  New  York,  was  in  early  life  a  resident  of  Hart- 
ford, where  he  made  his  debut  as  a  publisher  by  issuing  a  small 
edition  of  Davis'  Arithmetic,  which  was  the  precursor  of  a  long- 
line  of  similar  works  of  an  advanced  grade  by  the  same  author, 
Professor  Charles  Davies,  of  West  Point.  From  the  start  Mr. 
Barnes  determined  to  publish  no  books  but  such  as  he  believed 
would  stand  on  their  own  merits — "good  books,"  in  every  sense 
of  the  word;  an  entirely  different  principle  to  that  which  influences 
most  publishers,  who  look  rather  to  the  popularity  of  an  author, 
or  a  great  name,  than  to  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  work  offered. 
While  still  in  Hartford,  Mr.  Barnes  published  several  works  of 
Mrs.  Willard's,  the  renowned  principal  of  the  Female  Troy  Semi- 
nary; he  subsequently  removed  his  business  to  Philadelphia,  but 
did  not  remain  there  long ;  wisely  concluding  that  the  metropolis 
alone  was  the  place  to  build  up  such  a  business  as  he  was  already 
contemplating.  Thus,  in  1845,  we  find  him  located  in  John  street, 
on  the  corner  of  Dutch.  Here  the  famous  "  Teachers'  Library  " 
series  was  issued,  and  a  whole  line  of  geographical  works.  Then 
followed  a  set  on  Chemistry.  The  "  National  Series  "  of  Readers, 
which  was  issued  in  1870,  required  an  investment  of  $25,000  be- 
fore a  single  copy  was  printed. 

From  school-books  in  English,  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co.  next  under- 
took the  publication  of  Greek  text-books.  A  very  interesting 
novelty  among  the  Barnes'  publications  is  the  "  Dictionary  of  Eng- 
lish Phrases,"  by  Kwong  Ki  Chin,  lately  a  member  of  the  Chinese 
Educational  Mission  in  the  United  States.  This  is  the  first  at- 
tempt ever  made  in  this  country  to  popularize  the  Eno-Jish  lan- 
(720) 


ALFRED     S.     BARNES.  '721 

guage  for  the  use  of  resident  Chinese,  and  incidentally  to  give 
Americans  an  insight  into  the  structure  of  the  Chinese  language ; 
the  book  is  particularly  useful  in  a  commercial  point  of  tfiew. 

Besides  academical  text-books  and  histories,  this  firm  have  gone 
extensively  into  religious  publications  and  church-books.  "  Barnes' 
Educational  Monthly"  gives  a  resume  of  all  matters  of  interest  re- 
lating to  education,  either  in  this  country  or  elsewhere.  Another 
periodical  issued  by  them  is  the  "  Magazine  of  American  History." 
"The  International  Review,"  a  first-class  bi-monthly,  was  founded 
by  the  firm  in  1874. 

The  office  of  publication  of  the  firm  has  been,  for  some  years, 
at  the  corner  of  John  and  William  streets,  very  near  the  original 
site  of  the  infant  business,  which  may  now  truly  be  called  gigantic. 
This  is  a  large  five-story  building.  On  the  first  floor  are  found 
not  only  books  and  stationery,  but  all  the  modern  appliances  and 
inventions  to  be  found  in  the  furnishing  of  a  modern  model  school- 
room. But  probably  the  most  interesting  room  to  the  visitor 
would  be  that  on  the  fifth  floor,  where  sits  a  man  whose  whole 
time  is  spent  in  destroying  books.  Near  him  is  a  large  bin,  and, 
as  he  seizes  one  book  at  a  time,  tears  off  the  covers,  and  separates 
page  from  page,  and  then  tosses  the  fragments  into  the  bin,  one 
might  easily  imagine  that  he  was  some  wicked  fiend  opposed  to 
spreading  the  light  of  education,  and  striving  to  undo  the  good 
work  of  the  publication  office  below.  Some  years  ago  Mr.  Barnes 
erected  a  large  factory  in  Brooklyn,  near  the  terminus  of  the 
great  East  River  Bridge,  on  the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Liberty 
streets.  Here  all  the  work  of  printing,  binding  and  shipping  is 
performed ;  over  this  establishment  Mr.  E.  M.  Barnes  presides. 
Mr.  Alfred  S.  Barnes  resided  in  Brooklyn,  where  he  was  for  many 
years  an  honored  and  public-spirited  citizen.  He  tested  during 
his  long  life  the  truth  of  the  saying,  that  "godliness  is  profitable  to 
all  things,"  even  to  filling  the  money-coffers  of  the  godly  business 
men. 

46 


THURLOW    WEED. 

THURLOW  WEED  has  variously  passed  into  history  as  the  "  Amer- 
ican Warwick,"  the  "  King  Maker,"  the  bete  noir  of  the  Albany 
Regency,  as  the  most  virulent  of  Anti-Masons,  as  a  leading  Whig, 
a  Republican  manager,  and  somewhat  unjustly  as  "  The  Father  oi 
the  Lobby,"  and  at  all  times  an  adroit  and  usually  successful  poli- 
tician. No  one  in  speaking  of  this  great  leader  of  men,  while 
living,  ever  thought  or  spoke  of  him  as  a  millionaire  ;  no  one  asked 
how  much  money  he  had,  but  rather  concerned  themselves  with 
the  secret  tactics  which  he  was  likely  to  propose  in  the  committee 
room,  or  in  the  secret  conclave  at  room  No.  1 1 ,  in  the  Astor 
House. 

This  remarkable  man  was  born  in  Greene  county,  New  York, 
November  I5th,  1797.  His  parents  were  poor;  farming  and  team- 
ing was  the  occupation  of  his  father.  Thurlow  first  broke  away 
from  the  drudgery  of  country  life  by  taking  a  place  as  cabin-boy  in 
a  Hudson  river  sloop,  bound  for  New  York — making  his  debut 
in  that  city  by  carrying  a  passenger's  trunk  ashore  on  his  back ; 
but  being  a  born  journalist  he  soon  drifted  into  a  printing  office, 
working  successfully  on  several  papers  ;  the  weekly  "Lynx"  pub- 
lished at  Onondaga  Hollow,  being  the  first.  Here,  in  1811-12,  he 
succumbed  to  the  seductive  recruiting  sergeant  and  enlisted  with 
all  the  ardor  of  a  boy  of  fifteen  to  "  fight  the  British."  His  extra- 
ordinary intelligence  induced  his  Colonel,  young  as  he  was,  to  give 
him  a  commission  as  Quartermaster's  Sergeant.  When  the  war 
was  over,  he  resumed  the  life  of  a  wandering  "jour,"  and  from 
1816.  to  1818  was  at  work  with  the  late  James  Harper  at  Fan- 
shaw's  office,  in  New  York,  running  an  old  Ramage  press.  Being 
seized  with  the  editorial  fever,  he  started  the  Republican  Agricul- 
(722) 


TIIURLOW     WEED.  733 

turalist,  in  Oxford,  Chenango  county,  December  loth,  1818;  then 
followed  his  connection  with  the  Onondaga  Times,  which  he  changed 
to  the  Republican,  and  in  1823  he  was  editing  the  Rochester  Tele- 
graph; and  three  years  later  he  bought  out,  in  connection  with  a 
friend,  the  Rochester  Balance,  which  he  transformed  into  the  Anti- 
Masonic  Inquirer.  From  this  period  his  name  becomes  an  insep- 
arable factor  in  State  politics.  About  this  time  a  man  was  found 
drowned  in  Lake  Ontario ;  it  was  claimed  to  be  the  body  of  a 
person  named  Morgan — a  renegade  Mason;  the  fraternity  being 
accused  of  his  death,  there  was  a  question  of  identity  raised, 
and  to  the  minds  of  the  brotherhood  never  settled ;  but  the  popu- 
lar excitement  was  intense  and  divided  political  parties  for  some 
years  into  Mason  and  Anti-Mason  factions ;  Mr.  Weed  espoused 
the  latter,  and  during  the  crusade  against  the  ancient  Order  he 
was  twice  elected  to  the  Assembly.  To  him  was  attributed,  with 
some  inexactness,  the  saying,  not  yet  obsolete  in  political  circles — 
"It's  a  good  enough  Morgan  till  after  election."  In  1882,  shortly 
before  his  death,  Mr.  Weed  gave  to  the  public  the  whole  details  of 
this  affair;  all  the  parties  who  could  be  injured  by  the  revelation 
being  then  dead.  With  the  exception  of  these  two  terms  in  the 
Assembly,  Mr.  Weed  never  held  any  elective  office,  nor  any  other 
official  position,  save  that  of  State  Printer,  though  he  could  have 
had  at  any  time  between  1827  and  1860,  perhaps  later,  any  office 
he  desired  which  was  within  the  gift  of  his  party.  He  was  one  of 
the  prominent  men  who  consolidated  the  floating  elements  on  the 
anti-Jackson,  old  Federal  and  Anti-Masonic  factions,  into  the  form 
of  the  new  Whig  party — his  particular  friend  and  confidant,  Wil- 
liam H.  Seward,  being  the  first  Whig  candidate  for  Governor  in  the 
State  of  New  York. 

Simultaneously  with  this  movement  Mr.  Weed  started  the  since 
influential  and  famous  Evening  Journal  at  Albany,  its  first  appear- 
ance being  in  March,  1830.  Through  this  paper  he  attacked  the 
old  powerful  Democratic  "  Regency,"  consisting  of  such  men  as 
Martin  Van  Buren,  William  L.  Marcy,  Silas  Wright,  and  others  of 


-24  THURLOW     WEED. 

that  ilk,  with  perfect  fearlessness,  and  a  power  of  incisive  expres- 
sion seldom  equalled  and  never  surpassed.  While  Horace  Greeley 
was  writing  two-column  articles  on  a  given  subject,  Thurlow  Weed 
would  take  up  the  same  matter,  and  in  a  single  paragraph  put  the 
argument  in  a  shape  to  impress  the  memory  far  more  forcibly  and 
effectively.  During  the  "Clay  Campaign"  in  1844,  the  Albany 
Journal  was  the  cause  of  adding  the  word  "  Roorback  "  to  the 
English  language,  his  paper  giving  currency  to  that  famous  canard. 
On  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  Mr.  Weed  was  sent  to  Europe 
by  Mr.  Lincoln,  to  see  Earl  Russell  ahd  other  English  officials,  to 
explain  the  true  situation  of  affairs,  which  mission  he  performed 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  President  and  the  Secretary  of 
State.  He  sold  out  the  Albany  Journal  in  1864,  but  never  wholly 
refrained  from  connection  with  the  press,  for  some  time  holding 
an  interest  in  the  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser,  and  during 
his  latter  years  writing  many  letters  on  public  affairs  to  the 
Tribune.  He  had  no  desire  for  office,  or  what  is  generally  called 
fame,  but  he  aimed  to  rule  men,  and  he  did  it ;  for  thirty-five  or 
forty  years  no  one  person  in  the  party  had  so  much  influence  as 
he.  Thurlow  Weed  died  on  the  22d  of  November,  1882.  He  left 
three  daughters  and  several  grandchildren,  who  were  his  residuary 
legatees,  after  the  payment  of  some  bequests  to  charitable  insti- 
tutions; his  estate  was  estimated  at  from  $1,000,000  to  $1,250,000. 
The  precise  value  did  not  appear  by  the  will,  but  he  was  known  to 
have  an  income  of  at  least  $70,000.  The  house  in  which  he  died 
in  Twelfth  street,  New  York,  cost  $55,000.  Most  of  his  property 
was  in  railroad  stocks  and  government  bonds,  but  he  had  some 
landed  property  on  Staten  Island,  and  also  in  Iowa;  he  never 
made  any  display  of  his  wealth,  living  in  quiet  opulence  with  his 
devoted  unmarried  daughter. 


JAY  GOULD. 


JAY   GOULD. 

MR.  JAY  GOULD  is  one  among  many  men  in  the  United  States 
who  has  built  up  an  enormous  fortune  solely  by  the  force  of  his 
own  ability.  Beginning  life  in  the  humblest  circumstances,  he  has 
hewn  his  own  path  up  the  hill  of  financial  eminence,  until  to-day 
he  stands  among  the  wealthiest  men  in  this  country,  and  may  yet 
become  the  first  of  them  all.  Every  step  of  his  life  has  been  made 
in  spite  of  obstacles  which  would  have  overwhelmed  men  of  less 
commanding  ability.  Not  a  scheme  that  he  has  planned  has  failed 
to  meet  with  bitter  and  determined  opposition,  but  he  has  broken 
down  every  bar  to  his  movements  by  the  power  of  his  own  un- 
aided genius.  He  has  been  called  the  Napoleon  of  finance,  and 
fully  merits  the  name.  His  combinations  have  been  so  vast,  his 
plans  so  gigantic,  his  reserve  forces  so  astonishing,  and  his  vic- 
tories so  decisive,  that  he  deserves  to  be  classed  with  the  great 
commander,  who  astonished  Europe  by  the  rapidity  and  complete- 
ness ot  his  victories. 

The  accumulation  of  a  fortune  which  is  estimated  at  from 
$50,000,000  to  $100,000,000  is  an  achievement  which  may  well 
excite  the  wonder  of  all  men.  People  are  prone  to  imagine  that 
results  of  this  kind  are  due  to  good  fortune,  or,  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  luck.  The  simple  story  of  Mr.  Gould's  life  will  show  that 
what  he  has  achieved  is  due  to  his  keen  observation,  his  foresight, 
his  prudence,  and  his  indomitable  energy. 

Jason,  now  Jay  Gould,  was  born  at  Roxbury,  Delaware  county, 
New  York,  on  the  2;th  of  May,  1836.  His  father's  name  was 
John  B.  Gould,  and  his  mother's  Mary.  John  B.  Gould  died  in 
1866,  and  his  wife  died  when  her  son  was  only  ten  years  of  age. 
Of  his  life  much  has  been  recently  learned  through  his  own  state- 

(725) 


726  JAY     GOULD. 

ments  before  the  Senate  Investigation  Committee  on  Labor  and 
Education.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Gould,  who  is  a  slight,  agile 
man,  appeared  dressed  in  a  suit  of  black  diagonal ;  a  heavy  gold 
watch-chain  hung  from  his  vest;  eye-glasses  swung  from  a  silk 
cord  around  his  neck,  his  cuff-studs  were  large,  and  set  with 
diamonds  and  rubies ;  his  appearance  was  greeted  with  a  look  of 
revived  interest  by  the  wearied  members  of  the  committee.  In 
answer  to  the  query  if  "he  would  tell  something  of  his  early  life?" 
he  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  "  was  rather  silly  to  talk  about 
such  small  matters;  "  but  to  gratify  them  he  consented  to  do  so. 
He  said  in  substance  that  his  father  was  a  small  farmer,  who  kept 
twenty  cows,  which  it  was  his  duty  to  drive  to  pasture  and  assist 
in  milking,  and  he  added,  "  I  went  about  barefooted,  and  often  got 
thistles  in  my  feet."  He  very  early  became  dissatisfied  with  that 
sort  of  life,  and  asked  his  father  to  let  him  go  to  school ;  his  father 
raised  some  objection,  but  he  went,  and  then,  somewhat  later,  Jay 
proposed  that  if  his  father  would  "give  him  his  time,"  that  he 
would  go  away  and  try  and  make  his  fortune.  "All  right,"  said 
his  father,  "go  ahead."  The  lad  must  have  been  a  somewhat  pre- 
cocious youth,  with  great  self-confidence,  to  think  he  could  at  that 
age,  only  fourteen,  earn  his  own  living.  His  father  probably 
expected  to  see  him  back  in  a  day  or  two.  But  Jay  was  in  earnest. 
He  started  right  off  to  a  blacksmith's — not  to  work  at  the  anvil, 
but  offering  to  write  up  his  books,  receiving  board  in  payment. 
A  year  later  he  procured  a  clerkship  in  the  country  store  of  Squire 
Burnham,  workjng  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  ten  at  night, 
sweeping  out  in  the  morning,  and  making  himself  generally  useful. 
It  has  often  been  a  question  how  Mr.  Gould  acquired  his  first 
knowledge  of  surveying.  In  his  remarks  before  the  committee  he 
partially  explained  it.  He  had  a  natural  taste  for  mathematics, 
and  while  working  all  day  in  the  store,  used  to  get  up  at  three  in 
the  morning  and  study,  and  learned  through  this  means  all  that 
books  could  teach  him  about  engineering  and  surveying.  Thus 
he  had  the  theoretical  part  to  start  with,  and  he  learned  the  prac- 


JAY     GOULD.  727 

tical  by  going  straight  to  work  at  it.  Hearing  of  a  surveyor  in 
Ulster  county  who  needed  an  assistant,  he  engaged  with  him  "  for 
$20  per  month  and  found."  But  there  was  no  money  to  be  had 
in  advance,  and  his  employer  evidently  meant  that  he  should  prac- 
tice the  Napoleonic  tactics  of  making  the  country  through  which 
he  passed  support  him.  Mr.  Gould  says  that  this  sharp  man,  whom 
he  did  not  name,  gave  him  a  small  pass-book,  and  said  to  him : 
"As  you  go  along,  get  trusted  for  what  you  eat  and  your  lodgings, 
and  I  will  follow  after  you  and  pay  the  bills."  Not  liking  to  do 
this,  for  the  first  two  days  he  paid  his  way ;  but  his  money  gave* 
out,  and  gaining  some  courage  by  the  third  day,  he  tried  to  get 
trusted  for  a  meal,  valued  at  two  and  sixpence,  but  the  farmer  de- 
clined to  accept  his  indorser,  saying  that  he  "paid  no  one,"  and 
insisting  on  young  Gould  paying  for  what  he  wanted;  but  he  really 
had  no  money,  and  turned  his  pockets  inside  out  to  prove  it. 
This  rebuff  had  a  very  depressing  effect  upon  the  young  surveyor, 
"and,"  says  Mr.  Gould,  "it  seemed  to  me  that  the  world  had  about 
come  to  an  end ;  I  doubted  whether  I  should  go  ahead  or  give  up. 
I  sat  down  in  the  woods  where  no  one  could  see  me  and  had  a 
good  cry."  Then  he  thought  of  another  remedy  against  disaster, 
and  he  knelt  down  then  and  there  and  prayed.  After  that  he  felt 
better.  Not  only  that,  but  he  determined  to  "  go  ahead."  Shortly 
after  he  met  with  a  woman,  who  gave  him  some  bread  and  milk, 
speaking  kindly  to  him,  and  making  no  objection  when  he  said  he 
"  would  pay  her  some  other  time."  After  he  had  gone  on  a  little 
way,  her  husband  came  calling  after  him,  which  alarmed  him  very 
much,  as  he  supposed  he  wanted  money  for  what  he  had  eaten  ; 
but  he  found  instead  that  he  only  wanted  him  to  "make  a  noon- 
mark,  to  tell  time  by."  Fortunately  Mr.  Gould  knew  how  to  do 
this,  and  having  the  proper  instruments  with  him,  it  was  soon 
clone.  "  How  much  is  it  ?  "  asked  the  farmer.  "  Oh,  that's  all 
right,"  he  replied.  "No,  it  ain't,"  he  said;  "the  regular  surveyor 
charges  a  dollar  for  such  work."  "Well,  then,  a  dollar  is  the 
price,"  was  the  response.  *  He  gave  me,"  said  Mr.  Gould,  "  seven 


728  JAY     GOULD. 

shillings,  keeping  back  one  shilling  for  the  bread  and  milk — that," 
he  added,  "  is  the  first  money  I  ever  earned !  "  which  would  cer- 
tainly imply  that  he  had  only  received  board  in  payment  for  his 
work  with  the  blacksmith,  and  his  clerkship  also.  The  person 
who  employed  him  in  surveying  failed  to  pay  him. 

It  was  shortly  after  this  time  that  he  determined  to  improve 
upon  his  baptismal  name,  and  substitute  the  modern  "Jay"  for  the 
classical  "Jason,"  though  the  latter,  as  the  prototype  of  the  suc- 
cessful seeker  of  the  golden  fleece,  would  have  been  eminently 
appropriate^  There  seems  to  have  been  some  special  intervention 
of  the  fickle  goddess  Fortune  by  which  this  man,  afterward  to  be 
the  greatest  of  American  railroad  kings,  learned,  while  a  boy,  the 
very  science  by  which  railroads  are  built.  The  first  record  of  his 
work  as  a  surveyor  appeared  in  1856,  when  Collins  G.  Keeney,  of 
Nos.  17  and  19  Union  street,  Philadelphia,  published  a  map  of 
Delaware  county,  bearing  the  words  :  "  From  Actual  Survey  by 
Jay  Gould."  We  again  hear  of  his  surveying  in  Rensselaer  county 
at  the  time  of  the  anti-rent  disturbance.  The  anti-rent  people, 
seeing  him  at  work,  at  once  fancied  it  was  some  movement  of  the 
enemy  to  drive  them  from  their  farms.  They  attacked  Gould  and 
destroyed  his  instruments,  and  he  saved  himself  from  serious  in- 
jury by  a  masterly  retreat. 

He  next  went  to  Prattsville,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  tannery  of.  Colonel  Zadoc  Pratt.  This  gentleman 
took  an  interest  in  the  young  man,  and  subsequently  started  him 
in  the  tannery  business,  at  a  station  on  the  Delaware  &  Lacka- 
wanna  Railroad,  near  the  place  now  known  as  Goldsboro,  Penn- 
sylvania. Mr.  Gould  was  then  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  The 
town  of  Goldsboro  is  said  to  have  been  named  in  his  honor. 

There  have  been  many  different  versions  of  Mr.  Gould's  first 
appearance  in  New  York.  One  story,  which  he  tells  himself  with 
great  glee,  and  which  is  undoubtedly  the  true  one,  belongs  evi- 
dently to  a  date  long  prior  to  his  entry  into  Wall  street. 

This  story  is  to  the  effect  that  at  an  early  age  he  invented  a 


JAY     GOULD,  729 

wonderful  mouse-trap,  intended  to  completely  revolutionize  all 
known  methods  of  catching  the  wary  mouse.  With  this  he  went 
to  New  York.  There  he  boarded  a  car  and  started  to  ride  up- 
town. Attracted  by  the  activity  of  the  streets  and  the  size  of  the 
buildings,  something  new  to  the  inexperienced  country  lad,  he 
went  upon  the  platform  of  the  car  to  look  around  him,  leaving  his 
box  containing  the  mouse-trap  on  the  seat.  When  he  returned 
the  box  was  gone,  and  he  was  informed  that  it  had  been  taken  by 
a  man  who  had  just  left  the  car.  He  ran  after  the  man,  seized 
him  by  the  collar,  and  had  him  arrested.  To  his  own  disgust  he 
was  also  locked  up  as  a  witness.  He  always  said  afterward,  that 
his  first  experience  in  New  York,  as  a  prisoner  in  the  House 
of  Detention,  almost  prevented  him  from  ever  returning  to  that 
city. 

It  must  have  been  about  this  time  that  Mr.  Gould  first  met  the 
estimable  lady  who  became  the  partner  of  his  future  successes. 
At  any  rate  he  first  saw  Miss  Miller  while  he  was  staying  at  the 
Everett  House,  in  New  York.  The  bright,  handsome  girl  attracted 
his  admiration  in  so  pronounced  a  manner  that  she  noticed  it.  A 
little  flirtation  followed  and  was  succeeded  by  acquaintance.  This 
ripened  into  mutual  affection,  and,  without  consulting  the  young 
lady's  parents,  they  were  married.  Of  course  Mr.  Miller  was  filled 
with  righteous  indignation  at  first,  but  he  soon  became  convinced 
that  his  daughter  had  married  a  young  man  of  great  ability,  and 
that  he  ought  to  help  him  instead  of  frowning  upon  him.  Mr. 
Miller  was  largely  interested  in  the  Rensselaer  &  Saratoga  Rail- 
road, which  connects  Troy  and  Saratoga.  Young  Gould  was  ac- 
cordingly sent  to  take  charge  of  this  road,  which  was  in  an  almost 
bankrupt  condition,  its  securities  selling  for  a  few  cents  on  the  dol- 
lar. Mr.  Gould's  management  saved  the  company  from  ruin.  He 
improved  the  service  and  rolling  stock  of  the  road ;  managed  it  so 
that  out  of  the  constantly  increasing  receipts  the  debts  were  paid, 
and  finally  put  the  road  on  a  paying  basis.  And  here,  for  the  first 
time,  the  instincts  of  the  Wall  street  man  were  shown.  When  the 


73O  JAY     GOULD. 

road  had  been  so  improved  that  its  securities  were  worth  many 
times  as  much  as  they  had  previously  been,  it  was  found  that  Jay 
Gould  owned  nearly  all  the  stock.  He  sold  out  for  $750,000,  and 
went  to  New  York  with  that  fortune  as  a  basis  for  future  opera- 
tions. 

It  ought  to  be  noted  that  the  method  of  Mr.  Gould's  first  stock 
operation  is  the  one  which  he  has  pursued  ever  since.  He  bought 
a  railroad  when  it  was  almost  worthless ;  he  made  it  valuable ; 
then,  seeing  an  opportunity  to  put  his  money  in  a  better  place,  he 
sold  out  and  realized  an  immense  profit. 

Mr.  Gould  has  himself  stated  that  when  the  Rutland  &  Wash- 
ington Road  to  Troy  was  offering  its  first  mortgage  bonds  at  ten 
cents  on  the  dollar,  that  he  bought  them  all  on  credit  at  that  fig- 
ure, and  then  became  the  president,  treasurer,  general  superin- 
tendent and  owner  of  a  road  about  sixty  miles  long.  He  was  then 
learning  the  railroad  business  ;  he  developed  this  road,  and  when 
it  became  part  of  the  Rensselaer  &  Saratoga,  he  sold  his  stock  at 
$120  and  went  West. 

When  Mr.  Gould  went  to  New  York  he  was,  of  course,  wholly 
unknown.  So  little  is  known  in  Wall  street,  that  none  of  his  per- 
sonal friends  can  tell  how  much  money  he  had  at  tliat  time.  It 
may  be  remarked,  however,  that  none  of  them  have  any  definite 
notion  of  how  much  he  has  now.  His  first  appearance  in  the 
street  is  said  to  have  been  as  a  "  curb-stone  broker,"  that  is,  a  man 
who  deals  in  stocks  listed  on  the  Stock  Exchange  without  having 
a  seat,  or  doing  business  in  that  building. 

Mr.  Gould^  in  his  recent  statement,  related  the  profitable  specu- 
lation which  he  made  in  Cleveland  &  Pittsburgh  stock,  which  for 
a  long  time  was  in  a  very  poor  condition.  He  bought  it  and  put 
his  whole  energies  into  the  development  of  the  business  of  th'e 
road,  which  almost  immediately  revived' and  earned  dividends; 
the  stock  went  up  to  120,  when  he  sold  out  after  his  usual 
fashion,  and  soon  found  another  good  investment,  which  was  no 
other  than  the  Union  Pacific.-  The  incident  which  Mr.  Gould 


JAY     GOULD.  731 

now  turned  to  his  advantage  was  the  death  of  a  large  stock- 
holder named  Clark,  which  quite  unexpectedly  threw  his  shares 
upon  the  market.  "About  this  time,"  says  Mr.  Gould,  "the 
stock  went  away  down  to  15,  but  I  continued  to  buy  it  up  as  fast 
as  it  was  sold ;  when,  to  the  surprise  of  everybody,  it  rose  rapidly, 
and  before  long  was  paying  dividends."  One  secret  of 'this  mar- 
vellous advance  was  the  narrator's  development  of  the  iron  inter- 
est on  the  line  of  the  road  and  its  branches,  but  no  sooner  did 
other  speculators  perceive  that  Mr.  Gould  was  making  money 
where  they  had  lost,  than  a  great  outcry  was  raised  that  "  the 
Union  Pacific  was  Jay  Gould's  road,"  scenting  danger  of  some 
kind  in  that  fact,  though  what  the  exact  cause  of  the  panic  was 
it  would  be  difficult  to  tell.  However  the  excitement  abated 
when  the  great  financier  disposed  of  his  great  block  of  stock, 
which  was  soon  distributed  among  some  thousands  of  smaller 
investors. 

How  much  Mr.  Gould  was  worth  when  he  went  into  Erie  can 
be  only  a  matter  of  conjecture ;  but  it  is  a  part  of  the  history  of 
that  eventful  episode  that  the  company  soon  owed  him  $4,000,000, 
and  that  he  afterward  got  the  money.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  Mr.  Gould  sold  out  his  Union  Pacific  to  pacify  the  clamor  of 
the  disappointed.  It  was  the  result  of  a  keen  foresight  that  in- 
duced him  on  the  iyth  of  February,  1879,  to  get  rid  of  his  100,000 
shares  of  Union  Pacific  stock  to  a  syndicate.  The  stock  had  been 
neglected  for  some  weeks,  and  sales  were  rare  at  from  65  to  69. 
The  common  talk  of  the  street  indicated  that  there  was  no  real 
demand  for  the  stock,  and  that  loans  could  not  be  effected  on  it  at 
a  higher  valuation  than  $30  per  share — the  par  value  being  $100. 
It  was  currently  reported  that  Mr.  Gould  held  190,000  shares. 
The  sales  opened  on  the  morning  mentioned  at  69%,  and  by 
steady  advances  rose  in  a  few  moments  to  78!.  The  new  life  so 
suddenly  imparted  to  Union  Pacific  stock,  and  the  ready  sales 
made,  even  at  the  increased  price,  created  great  surprise  on  the 
Stock  Exchange  and  in  financial  circles,  and  all  kinds  of  rumors 


~32  JAY     GOULD. 

were  circulated  as  to  the  real  cause.  The  true  cause,  however, 
was  found  to  be  Mr.  Gould's  large  sale  previously  mentioned. 

Mr.  Gould's  later  ventures  have  been  on  the  same  gigantic 
scale,  and  with  the  same  uniform  success  so  far  as  the  world 
knows  anything  of  them.  The  purchase  of  several  thopsands  of 
shares  of  Wabash  at  less  than  5  was  succeeded  by  the  advance  of 
the  preferred  stock  to  80  and  the  common  to  45.  He  also  bought 
large  quantities  of  Kansas  and  Texas  at  about  8  and  increased  its 
market  value  to  48.  All  through  1876—7-8  he  was  buying  great 
quantities  of  low-priced  stocks,  and  subsequently  realizing  profits 
which  were  simply  tremendous. 

The  hobby  of  Mr.  Gould's  life  is  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  has  devoted  his  best  ener- 
gies to  the  successful  management  of  that  great  corporation.  He 
acquired  control  of  it  by  bitterly  opposing  it. 

He  went  into  the  American  Union  Telegraph  Company  at  its 
very  foundation.  He  extended  its  wires  to  every  city  of  note  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  into  the  provinces,  making  a  com- 
plete system  as  far  as  he  went,  and  filling  the  service  with  men  of 
experience.  Before  the  line  had  been  in  working  order  twelve 
months  it  had  become  a  formidable  competitor  to  the  Western 
Union.  In  the  great  rise  of  stocks  in  1879  Western  Union  sold 
up  to  1 1 6.  Then  Mr.  Gould  menaced  that  company  openly  for 
the  first  time.  He  displaced  its  wires  from  the  Union  Pacific  to 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  other  roads,  and  substituted  the  wires  of 
his  own  company.  In  one  month  Western  Union  dropped  from 
1 1 6  to  88.  If  the  story  that  Mr.  Gould  was  short  30,000  shares  is 
true,  he  made  $840,000  by  the  operation.  Such  a  movement, 
however,  would  not  have  been  in  accordance  with  Mr.  Gould's 
methods.  He  probably  bought  as  much  stock  as  he  could  when 
the  price  was  low,  and  laid  it  away  as  a  corner-stone  for  those  in- 
creased possessions  which  afterward  gave  him  the  control  of  the 
Western  Union  Company. 

Mr.  Gould's  next  move  was  to  predict  a  war  of  rates  between 


JAY     GOULD.  733 

his  line  and  the  Western  Union.  The  stock  of  the  latter  then 
went  down  to  95.  Then  he  announced  that  he  was  to  be  taken 
into  the  Western  Union  directory  and  no  war  was  to  take  place. 
Western  Union  went  up  to  104.  When  the  day  for  the  election 
of  directors  arrived  no  Gould  appeared,  and  the  stock  went  down 
again  on  renewed  rumors  of  wars.  The  stock  of  Mr.  Gould's- 
American  Union  line  was  listed  on  the  Stock  Exchange  and  became 
an  active  security.  The  Western  Union  directory  became  alarmed. 
Efforts  were  made  to  get  Mr.  Gould  into  the  board.  These  were 
finally  successful,  and  the  result  was  that  in  January,  1882,  the 
American  Union  line  was  bought  in  by  the  Western  Union.  At 
the  present  time  the  capital  stock  of  the  latter  company  amounts 
to  $80,000,000,  of  which  Mr.  Gould  owns  $20,000,000. 

These  comprise  the  principal  operations  in  which  Mr.  Gould  has 
been  engaged  since  his  life  in  Wall  street  began.  In  addition  to 
these  he  is  intimately  connected  with  the  foundation  and  building 
up  of  the  Texas  &  Pacific,  the  Missouri  Pacific,  the  Pacific  Mail, 
and  the  elevated  railways  of  New  York.  With  regard  to  the  lat- 
ter he  has  acted  the  part  of  a  saviour  in  time  of  distress.  His  ar- 
rangements of  the  payment  of  dividends,  and  his  substitution  of 
Manhattan  first  and  second  preferred  stock  for  stocks  of  the  New 
York  and  Metropolitan  companies,  were  a  masterpiece  of  finan- 
ciering. 

There  is  one  passage  in  Mr.  Gould's  life  which  must  now  be 
taken  into  consideration,  and  which  is  unpleasant  because  of  the 
comments  which  have  been  freely  made  upon  it.  There  is  little 
doubt  that  Mr.  Gould  was  once  compelled  to  resort  to  extraordi- 
nary measures  to  save  himself  from  ruin  by  the  unfaithfulness  of 
a  friend.  Envy  and  malice,  which  are  constant  attendants  at  the 
successful  man's  side,  have  found  no  difficulty  in  painting  those 
dark  hours  in  far  blacker  colors  than  they  deserved.  The  true 
story  of  those  days  is  here  told  with  the  belief  that  those  who 
read  will  be  able  to  judge  with  some  degree  of  justice  as  to  Mr. 
Gould's  position. 


„  .,,  JAY     GOULD. 

The  historic  "  Black  Friday,"  when  men  were  ruined  by  scores 
and  fortunes  mown  down  as  if  by  the  sweep  of  a  scythe,  was 
September  24,  1869.  Jay  Gould  has  been  accused  of  being-  the 
central  mover  in  the  great  combination  of  operations  which  pre- 
ceded this  day,  but  a  brief  history  of  those  movements  will  show 
that  Mr.  Gould  was  fighting  to  save  himself.  He  fought  like 
Napoleon,  it  is  true,  and  swept  others  out  of  his  way,  but  he 
fought  to  win — and  he  did  win.  The  history  of  the  events  which 
led  up  to  the  great  panic  and  which  occurred  during  its  existence, 
as  given  in  one  of  the  leading  newspapers  a  few  years  ago,  are  as 
follows : 

"After  the  great  suit  of  Erie  vs.  Vanderbilt,  Mr.  Gould  was 
chosen  president  of  the  road,  with  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  as  comptroller. 
During  June,  July,  August  and  September,  1868,  the  capital  stock 
had  been  increased  by  235,000  shares,  and  stood  at  $57,766,300. 
The  fresh  issue  was  on  the  market  and  the  price  went  down  to 
44.  It  was  determined  by  Messrs.  Fisk,  Daniel  Drew  and  Gould 
to  put  the  price  lower.  They,  therefore,  locked  up  greenbacks 
to  the  amount  of  $1,400,000.  Drew,  however,  betrayed  his  part- 
ners. He  was  short  of  70,000  shares,  and  to  punish  him  the 
combination  unlocked  greenbacks  and  sent  up  the  stock.  Mr. 
Drew  lost  $1,500,000  by  the  movement.  The  price  of  the  stock 
went  up  considerably  further,  and  in  order  to  protect  himself  Mr. 
Gould  was  obliged  to  get  it  down.  To  accomplish  this  he  bought 
gold  in  company  with  the  other  members  of  his  clique.  Abel  R. 
Corbin,  acting  for  the  Gould  party,  sounded  the  government  as 
to  its  probable  policy,  and  announced  that  it  would  not  sell  gold. 
The  clique  bought  millions.  In  August,  1869,  the  price  was  131. 
In  September  the  clique  bought  $9,000,000,  at  133^  to  134.  On 
the  morning  of  Wednesday,  September  22d,  it  held  several  mil- 
lions more  than  there  were  in  the  city  of  New  York,  outside  of 
the  sub-treasury.  The  price  was  141.  The  clique  continued  its 
operations,  the  details  of  which  are  not  necessary,  in  order  to 
force  the  '  shorts '  to  cover,  and  the  price  continued  to  rise. 


JAY     GOULD.  735 

During  '  Black  Friday'  week  gold  went  up  to  165,  and  the  grand 
crash  came  which  involved  the  financial  affairs  of  Wall  street  in 
confusion  and  brought  ruin  upon  hundreds  of  individuals.  It  is 
'  said  that  while  Albert  Speyers,  a  German  broker,  who  was  working 
for  the  clique  in  the  gold  room,  was  bidding  160  for  any  number 
of  millions  in  gold,  Mr.  Gould  was  selling  out  that  which  he  had 
already  bought  through  a  dozen  different  brokers.  Thus  he  was 
preparing  for  the  collapse  which  he  knew  must  come.  Perhaps 
this  looks  like  something  different  from  fair  dealing,  but  it  is  only 
the  usual  method  of  Wall  street.  The  morals  of  the  Stock  Ex- 
change are  not  those  of  the  Puritans.  Mr.  Gould  was  working  in 
Wall  street  and  he  had  to  use  the  methods  of  that  street.  Every 
man  in  the  street  was  looking  for  an  opportunity  to  treat  Mr. 
Gould  in  precisely  the  same  way;  but  here,  as  in  other  operations, 
the  keenness  of  his  perception,  the  vastness  of  his  combination, 
the  cool  courage  with  which  he  ran  risks  involving  scores  of  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  brought  him  out  of  the  struggle  a  victor  over  the 
many  who  were  striving  to  crush  him.  The  price  had  been 
pushed  up  too  far.  Secretary  Boutwell  sent  word  that  he  would 
sell  $4,000,000  to -relieve  the  stringency  of  the  market.  The  price 
fell  more  suddenly  than  it  had  risen,  and  utter  confusion  prevailed 
in  Wall  street.  The  ruin  was  hastened  and  made  more  complete 
by  private  interference.  A  broker  from  James  Brown  had  pre- 
ceded Boutvvell's  orders  by  offering  to  sell  millions  at  160.  When 
the  despatch  arrived,  bringing  real  gold  into  the  fight  against 
the  phantom  gold,  the  pressure  was  too  great  and  the  'bulls' 
were  routed — all  but  the  wary  man,  and  one,  perhaps  two,  of  his 
clique." 

Among  the  many  firms  which  "  went  under  "  in  the  stress  of 
those  days  were  the  following:  Albert  Speyers;  Galway,  Hunter 
&  Co. ;  William  Belden  &  Co. ;  Zuiga  &  Graves ;  Chase,  McClure 
&  Co.;  P.  H.  Williams,  Jr.,  &  Co.;  Charles  W.  Keep  &  Co.; 
James  W.  Brown  &  Co. 

The  general    admission   that  in   Wall  street  each    man   is  for 


736  JAY     COULD. 

himself,  and  the  financial  opponent  of  every  other  man,  necessarily 
tends  to  cause  the  complaints  of  those  who  have  been  worsted  in 
the  struggle  to  be  little  heeded  or  commiserated  ;  yet  we  should 
expect  to  find  now  and  then  a  ray  of  candor  from  even  the  most 
inveterate  financier  when  a  personal  friend  of  less  experience  seeks 
to  gather  a  hint  from  the  former;  but  if  Mr.  Joaquin  Miller's  in- 
terview with  Mr.  Gould  is  correctly  reported,  the  poet  was  sadly 
deceived  if  he  thought  to  get  a  "  point "  from  his  friend.  This  is 
the  story :  Mr.  Miller  had  been  watching  Western  Union  in  Wall 
street,  and  seeing  the  stock  go  down  about  18  points,  ventured 
to  buy  100  shares;  it  fell  again,  and  he  bought  another  hundred, 
and  still  another,  and  so  on  till  he  reached  the  limits  of  his  mar- 
gin. Then  becoming  intimidated,  he  thought  he  would  step  over 
and  see  Mr.  Gould — "  his  friend."  Telling  his  day's  experience, 
he  explained  his  purchases,  when,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  Mr. 
Gould  looked  at  me  with  a  sweet  and  innocent  surprise,  as  much 
as  to  say,  '  Only  to  think  that  a  man  would  touch  that  worthless 
Western  Union.' " 

"I'm  so  sorry  you've  bought  this  stuff;  my  telegraph  is  the 
other  line,"  and  he  sighed. 

"  I  bought  it  because  I  thought  it  cheap.  Will  it  be  lower,  Mr. 
Gould?" 

"  Well,"  he  answered,  "  we "  (looking  at  his  son  George) 
"have  not  a  share  of  it.  It  ought  to  be  a  good  deal  cheaper." 

"Then  I  shall  sell  twice  the  amount  I  hold  and  hedge.  Thank 
you." 

"The  next  morning,"  adds  Mr.  Miller,  "I  did  sell;  sold  right 
and  left,  for  the  whole  bottom  seemed  to  be  dropping  out  of 
Western  Union.  It  kept  on  tumbling,  and  by  noon  I  was  even. 
By  one  o'clock  I  was  almost  rich — richer  than  I  had  ever  been 
before.  /  remained  a  rich  man  about  thirty-five  minutes  !  Then  the 
tide  began  to  set  against  me.  Western  Union  bounded  up  with 
a  rapidity  that  dazzled  me,  and  by  the  time  the  hammer  fell  in 
the  Stock  Board  I  literally  had  not  a  car-fare  left."  Mr.  Miller 


JAY     GOULD.  73? 

affirms  that  at  the  very  time  described  above  "  Mr.  Gould  had 
about  200  shares,  and  was  picking  it  up  as  fast  as  he  could  knock 
it  down."  Comment  is  unnecessary. 

One  operation  of  Mr.  Gould's,  beyond  all  others,  has  interested 
and  excited  the  public  mind,  and  that  is  the  attempt  to  buy  up 
successive  newspapers  so  as  to  get  control  of  the  Associated  Press ; 
previous  to  this  movement  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, under  the  instigation  of  Mr.  Gould,  had  entered  into  a  con- 
tract with  the  four  combined  trans-Atlantic  cable  companies,  in 
which  was  a  clause  that  "  whenever  the  messages  contained  anything 
affecting  the  Western  Union  Company,  in  any  way,  it  would  be  the 
privilege  of  that  company  to  inspect  them''  and  as  all  foreign  mes- 
sages were  to  be  sent  direct  to  the  "Western  Union  main  office, 
this  was  in  effect  Jo  give  the  right  of  inspection  of  all  cable  mes- 
sages to  the  officers  of  Jay  Gould ;  for,  how  could  it  be  known 
what  would  affect  the  Western  Union,  unless  all  were  examined? 
This  was  a  tremendous  power  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  one  man. 
Some  months  after  the  conclusion  of  this  contract,  Mr.  John 
Fender,  M.  P.,  President  of  the  Direct  Cable  and  of  the  "  Globe 
Telegraph "  and  "  Trust  Companies,"  of  London,  visited  New 
York  to  endeavor  to  procure  a  modification  of  the  existing  con- 
tract. Not  specially  the  above  clause,  but  for  the  right  to  receive 
messages  from  other  sources  than  through  the  Western  Union, 
to  which  they  were  restricted.  Of  course,  he  failed  in  his  mis- 
sion. 

In  connection  with  this  peculiar  arrangement  for  securing  the 
first  perusal  of  commercial  correspondence  through  the  Atlantic 
cables,  was  the  effort  made  to  buy  up  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
Associated  Press  Company.  This  association  consists  of  the  seven 
leading  newspapers  of  New  York  city,  namely,  the  Herald,  World, 
Times,  Tribune,  Express,  Journal  of  Commerce,  and  the  Swi.  For 
some  time  it  had  been  generally  understood  that  the  Tribune  and 
World  had  succumbed  to  the  influence  of  Mr.  Gould's  millions, 
and  later  the  Express  was  bought  up  without  reserve.  Consider 
47 


738  JAY    GOULD. 

now  the  vast  influence  which  this  colossal  combination  was  capable 
of  exerting.  Four  trans- Atlantic  cables!  a  net-work  of  telegraph 
lines  over  the  whole  country,  and  the  control  of  three-fourths  of 
the  Associated  Press !  No  wonder  that  some  alarm  was  expe- 
rienced, when  brokers,  merchants,  and  manufacturers  reflected, 
that  if  this  absorption  went  on  a  few  degrees  further,  that  the 
whole  country  would  be  dependent  upon  one  man  for  the  color 
and  character  of  the  news  it  should  receive.  Fortunately  there 
were  papers  not  to  be  bought,  and  one  of  these,  at  least,  rich 
enough  to  withstand  all  the  fascinations  of  the  great  financier's 
gold ;  able  also  to  procure  the  laying  of  an  independent  cable,  if 
its  proprietor  saw  fit.  But  the  very  project  shows  the  audacity  of 
the  ambitious  mind,  which  grows  with  what  it  feeds  upon,  until  no 
bounds  are  recognized  within  the  pale  of  the  possible. 

The  present  wealth  of  Mr.  Gould  has  been  variously  estimated. 
It  is  common  to  overestimate  the  wealth  of  men  of  moderate  for- 
tune, and  to  underestimate  that  of  the  great  millionaires,  because 
as  great  a  show  can  be  made  by  a  man  who  has  ten  millions  as  by 
one  who  has  fifty.  It  has  been  said  by  many  newspapers  that  Mr. 
William  H.  Vanderbilt's  fortune  amounts  to  $100,000,000,  but 
persons  who  are  more  intimately  acquainted  with  his  resources 
place  the  .amount  at  three  times  that  figure.  Mr.  Gould's  wealth 
has  been  estimated  at  from  ten  to  seventy-five  millions.  That  the 
first  estimate  is  absurd  is  at  once  shown  when  we  remember  he 
was  worth  that  and  more  in  1873,  and  his  twenty  millions  of 
Western  Union  stock  speaks  for  itself.  That  the  last  is  probably 
too  small  can  be  easily  proved.  In  the  beginning  of  1882  Mr. 
Gould  was  accused  by  the  rumor-mongers  of  Wall  street  with 
selling  out  enormous  quantities  of  his  stocks.  He  therefore  called 
together  a  number  of  prominent  operators,  including  Russell 
Sage,  Cyrus  Field,  Judge  Dillon,  and  others,  and  openly  exhibited 
to  them  not  only  the  record  of  his  stock  possessions,  but  the  cer- 
tificates of  the  stocks.  To  their  great  astonishment,  they  found 
stocks  to  the  amount  of  $50,000,000  tied  up  in  bundles,  the  dates 


JAY     GOULD.  739 

of  Mr.  Gould's  purchases  showing  that  they  had  been  in  his  pos- 
session and  never  out  of  it  for  several  years.  His  bonds  were  not 
shown,  but  he  offered,  if  the  gentlemen  desired  it,  to  produce  "a 
couple  of  carriage  loads."  This  exhibition  was  succeeded  by  a 
powerful  bull  movement  which,  if  Mr.  Vanderbilt  had  adhered  to 
the  programme  agreed  upon  by  him  and  Mr.  Gould,  would  have 
been  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the  history  of  Wall  street. 
Now,  if  Mr.  Gould  owned  all  those  stocks  and  bonds  at  that  time, 
he  must  certainly  have  had  some  money  in  bank ;  he  has  been 
known  to  draw  and  have  cashed  a  check  for  $2,000,000.  If  he 
owned  fifty  millions  in  stocks,  it  is  probable  that  his  possessions 
in  bonds  were  as  large ;  and  we  may  reasonably  suppose  that  Mr. 
Gould's  fortune  amounts  to  $100,000,000. 


CHARLES    GOODYEAR. 

MR.  GOODYEAR,  the  discoverer  of  vulcanized  rubber,  is  a  speci- 
men of  that  unfortunate  class  of  inventors  who  only  come  within 
reach  of  their  fortunes  just  as  death  is  reaching  for  them.  Few 
persons  who  have  benefited  the  world  so  much  have  suffered 
more  in  the  preliminary  stages  than  did  this  man,  who  was  born 
in  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  on  December  2Qth,  1800.  When 
quite  young  his  family  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  his  father 
and  brothers  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  and  in  which  he 
became  a  partner;  but  in  1836  this  firm  failed,  and  Charles,  who 
had  become  much  interested  in  the  India  rubber  business,  turned 
his  attention  in  that  direction.  He  had  already  made  some  improve- 
ment in  an  India  rubber  life-preserving  apparatus,  and  hoping  to 
sell  it,  went  to  New  York,  there  offering  it  to  the  agent  of  the 
Roxbury  India  Rubber  Company.  Instead  of  buying  the  improve- 
ment, this  agent  informed  Mr.  Goodyear  of  the  many  defects  of 
the  rubber  being  manufactured,  and  of  the  necessity  for  certain 
improvements  which  would  secure  the  permanent  elasticity  of  the 
articles  manufactured  but  render  them  insensible  to  the  effects 
of  heat  and  cold.  Up  to  this  time  the  rubber  shoes,  for  instance, 
were  not  only  shapeless,  heavy  and  unsightly,  but  became  so  stiff 
with  cold  as  to  be  unusable,  and  when  exposed  to  the  fire  were  in 
danger  of  melting ;  the  garments  produced  cracked  in  winter  and 
became  sticky  in  summer,  besides  giving  out  an  odor  not  sug- 
gestive of  "  Araby  the  blest."  Mr.  Goodyear  took  in  the  situation, 
and  became  convinced  that  he  was  the  man  to  make  the  needed 
discoveries.  He  immediately  commenced  experimenting;  the 
first  batch  of  shoes  which  he  made  in  the  fall  and  early  winter  he 
put  away  to  test  their  surviving  through  summer's  heat,  as  he  did 
(74o) 


CHARLES     OOOnVEAR.  J 41 

not  wish  to  put  a  defective  article  on  the  market ;  his  doubts  were 
confirmed  as  to  their  durability,  the  first  warm  weather  reducing 
them  to  a  useless,  offensive  mass.  He  had  received  some  assist- 
ance from  a  friend  ;  but  he  now  withdrew  his  aid.  Mr.  Goodyear 
was  in  very  poor  health  ;  but  he  had  no  idea  of  giving  up  the 
search  for  a  perfect  compound. 

An  old  acquaintance  gave  him  the  use  of  a  room  in  Gold  street 
for  a  laboratory,  and  another  let  him  have  chemicals  on  credit,  and 
he  succeeded  in  producing  smooth  elastic  sheets,  for  which  he 
received  a  medal  at  the  Fair  of  the  American  Institute,  in  1835. 
He  was  praised  by  the  newspapers,  and  actually  sold  all  he  could 
make,  but  he  discovered  that  a  single  drop  of  acid  of  vinegar, 
lemon  juice  or  even  that  from  a  sour  apple  would  reduce  the  sub- 
stance to  its  original  stickiness.  He  was  not  content  with  and 
would  not  continue  the  manufacture  of  so  imperfect  an  article. 
This  "cured,"  as  he  called  it,  he  now  began  to  experiment  anew 
upon;  and  having  such  imperfect  resources  for  grinding  materials 
was  obliged  to  carry  in  a  jar  on  his  shoulder  the  quick-lime  which 
he  used,  three  miles.  At  last  accident  revealed  one  fact  to  him  : 
•while  bronzing  a  piece  of  rubber  cloth,  he  applied  aqua  fortis  to  a 
portion  of  it,  to  remove  the  bronze  from  a  certain  portion ;  it  not 
only  did  that,  but  it  discolored  the  cloth  to  such  an  extent  that 
Mr.  Goodyear  threw  it  away  as  useless.  Noticing  a  few  days  after, 
he  found  its  character  completely  changed ;  it  would  now  bear  a 
degree  of  heat  such  as  would  previously  have  melted  it;  as  aqua 
fortis  is  two-fifths  sulphuric  acid,  it  was  plainly  a  great  step  towards 
final  success.  Mr.  Goodyear  following  up  this  discovery  ob- 
tained a  patent  "rfor  curing  India  rubber  with  aqua  fortis,"  and 
opened  a  store  for  the  sale  of  his  goods  on  Broadway.  Then  an 
accident  in  his  laboratory  nearly  cost  him  his  life,  and  before  he 
recovered  from  his  injuries,  his  friend  and  silent  partner  failed,  and 
he  was  left  utterly  without  resources.  The  Roxbury  Rubber  Com- 
pany had  failed;  but  in  September,  1836,  Mr.  Chaffee,  who  had 
been  at  that  concern,  allowed  Mr.  Goodyear  to  use  the  buildings 


742  CHARLES     GOODYEAR. 

and  abandoned  works  for  further  experiments.  For  a  while  the 
clouds  were  lifted ;  he  made  and  sold  several  thousand  dollars 
worth  of  goods ;  but  getting  a  government  contract  for  a  large 
quantity  of  mail  bags,  which  he  made  and  delivered  in  apparent 
good  order,  at  the  end  of  a  few  weeks  they  had  become  so  soft 
as  to  be  useless.  By  this  he  learned  that  aqua  fortis  would  cure 
only  very  thin  goods  ;  and  the  report  of  this  failure  with  the  bags 
destroyed  the  sale  of  his  other  goods.  His  effects  were  sold  for 
debt  and  he  was  again  in  the  deepest  poverty. 

Through  the  foreman  of  the  old  Roxbury  works,  Mr.  Hay  ward, 
he  learned  that  the  use  of  sulphur  hardened  the  gum  ;  that  it  was, 
in  fact,  the  great  master  power  over  rubber ;  but  yet  the  precise 
way  of  using  it  was  a  mystery.  One  day  he  dropped  a  piece  of 
sulphur-cured  leather  on  the  stove,  which  was  red  hot ;  he  ex- 
pected to  see  it  melted  by  the  heat,  but,  no,  it  shrivelled  like  leather, 
instead  of  melting.  Thus  he  learned  that  sulphur-cured  leather 
must  be  treated  to  heat  to  destroy  its  soft,  sticky  nature ;  but  what 
degree  of  heat  he  had  yet  to  learn.  Years  of  experiments  fol- 
lowed ;  the  pockets  and  patience  of  his  friends  were  exhausted, 
his  health  suffered,  his  family  nearly  starved.  But  here  comes  in  a 
noble  trait  of  the  man :  a  French  firm  sent,  while  he  was  in  the 
deepest  distress,  offering  to  buy,  at  a  large  sum,  his  system  of 
curing  rubber  with  aqua  fortis;  and  despite  the  entreaties  of  his 
friends  he  had  the  honesty  to  refuse — telling  them  that  he  was  on 
the  verge  of  an  improvement  which  would  be  sure  to  render 
goods  cured  by  aqua  fortis  unsalable. 

People  who  had  hitherto  helped  him  now  called  him  crazy; 
but  he  persevered,  and  in  1844  produced  perfectly  vulcanized 
rubber  goods.  He  obtained  the  grand  medal  at  the  Paris  Expo- 
sition, and  was  presented  with  the  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor 
by  Napoleon  III.  But  he  was  worn  out  with  the  long  struggle ; 
his  rights  for  the  United  States  alone  were  sold  for  millions  of 
dollars,  but  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  enjoy  the  wealth  that  had 
come  so  late.  He  died  in  New  York,  in  July,  1860. 


EDWARD   CLARK. 

EDWARD  CLARK  is  best  known  in  the  community  as  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  "Singer  Manufacturing  Company,"  and  a  late  partner 
of  Isaac  M.  Singer,  though  this  position  was  by  no  means  the  limit 
of  his  business  activity  or  usefulness  in  society.  While  practising 
law  in  New  York,  the  firm-name  being  Jordan  &  Clark,  there 
entered  the  office  one  day  a  person  named  J.  Thomas  Jones,  now 
manager  of  the  Singer's  business  company  in  Utica,  and  the  same 
man  who  built  the  first  Singer  machine,  in  1850.  This  person  laid 
before  Mr.  Clark  the  points  in  the  Singer  claim,  but  neither  he 
nor  Singer  had  then  the  means  to  establish  their  priority  of  inven- 
tion, contested  as  it  was  by  Elias  Howe,  Jr.,  and  also  by  others, 
who  were  suing  Mr.  Singer  for  infringement  of  their  patents.  In 
the  course  of  the  examination  of  the  papers  and  drawings  pre- 
sented by.  Mr.  Jones,  Mr.  Clark  became  much  interested  in  the 
machines  themselves  ;  he  appeared  to  see,  as  with  a  prophetic  eye, 
the  revolution  which  this  mechanical  agent  for  the  performance  of 
woman's  work  was  destined  to  make  in  society ;  only,  like  the 
inventors  themselves,  and  many  other  persons,  he  slightly  mistook 
the  nature  of  the  change  which  these  machines  would  produce. 
He  figured  to  himself  the  laborious  style  of  work,  which  kept  the 
mother  of  a  family  "stitch,  stitch,  stitching,"  for  weary  hours,  to  keep 
her  little  ones  decently  clothed,  and  which  never-ceasing  employ- 
ment with  the  needle  really  almost  precluded  her  from  the  pursuit 
of  any  form  of  intellectual  culture,  and  Mr.  Clark  estimating  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  same  amount  of  work  could  be  accom- 
plished by  machinery,  he  pictured  to  himself  the  increased  refine- 
ment and  intelligence  which  would  result  from  the  use  of  this 
leisure  time  saved  from  the  slavery  of  the  needle,  and  which  would 

(743) 


744  EDWARD     CLARK. 

be  secured  to  the  coming  generation  of  young  women  through  the 
use  of  these  machines.  Indeed,  it  seemed  almost  a  work  of  be- 
nevolence, a  humanitarian  movement,  to  promote  their  construction 
and  sale.  That  there  was  evidently  money  in  it,  too,  did  not  de- 
tract from  its  interest.  He  had  not  overrated  the  change  that 
sewing-machines  were  destined  to  produce,  but  he  and  others 
greatly  underestimated  the  extent  to  which  this  great  facility  of 
accomplishment  would  be  turned  to  the  gratification  of  vanity ;  the 
amplification  of  ornament,  and  the  endless  production  of  elaborate 
trimmings.  Leisure  has  not  resulted  to  woman  from  the  use  of 
sewing-machines.  The  "great  revolution"  has  resolved  itself  into 
greater  elegance  and  variety  of  costume,  and  the  absolute  annihil- 
ation of  everything  rustic  or  old-fashioned  in  woman's  attire, 
wherever  these  machines  have  penetrated. 

A  member  of  the  original  Singer  Company  named  Zeber,  who 
had  become  discouraged  with  the  obstacles  which  impeded  the 
progress  of  the  invention,  and  especially  with  the  tedious  litigation 
threatened,  was  anxious  to  sell  out  his  <  share,  which  Mr.  Clark 
readily  bought.  From  this  time  forward  the  interests  of  the  Singer 
Manufacturing  Company  and  those  of  Mr.  Edward  Clark  were 
one  and  identical.  He  had  greatly  assisted  Mr.  Singer  over  his  law 
troubles,  not  only  with  advice  but  with  money,  and  eventually  en- 
tered into  partnership  with  him  under  the  firm-name  of  "I.  M. 
Singer  &  Co."  This  partnership  continued  until  1863,  when  both 
partners  retired  from  the  active  management  of  the  business,  and 
the  Singer  Manufacturing  Company  was  formed,  of  which  both  the 
partners  became  directors. 

Mr.  Clark  had  scarcely  begun  to  accumulate  money  above  a  com- 
petency, than  he  began  to  give  away  in  proportion  to  his  increase. 
He  was  an  Episcopalian  in  faith,  and  for  many  years  in  succession 
he  contributed  largely  to  Episcopalian  Home  Missions,  whose  oper- 
ations were  chiefly  carried  on  in  the  West.  To  his  Alma  Mater, 
Williams  College,  of  Massachusetts,  he  made  the  handsome  gift  of 
a  Museum  building,  a  costly  stone  structure  known  as  "Clark  Hall," 


EDWARD     CLARK. 


745 


adding  various  other  gifts  at  intervals,  as  the  ascertained  needs  of 
the  college  were  presented  to  him,  or  as  he  sought  them  out;  to 
which  the  Faculty  responded  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree 
of  LL.  D.  He  was  the  principal  contributor  to  the  erection  of  the 
Episcopalian  church  at  Centreville,  Passaic  county,  New  Jersey. 
Among  other  large  buildings  which  he  put  up  was  the  "  Hotel 
Fennimore,"  at  Cooperstown,  which  was  something  he  said  that 
should  be  worthy  of  the  pioneer  novelist  of  America,  who  had 
hitherto  been  represented  by  an  old-fashioned  country  inn.  For 
this  same  Cooperstown  (his  summer  home)  he  had  almost  the 
same  affection  as  for  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  when  there  was  a 
question  of  introducing  water  into  the  town,  and  the  people  felt  too 
poor  to  appropriate  the  necessary  funds,  this  beneficent  Crcesus 
volunteered  to  loan  them  the  money,  with  a  practically  unlimited 
time  in  which  to  repay  it. 

Mr.  Clark  had  married  in  early  life  the  daughter  of  his  old 
law-partner,  Mr.  Jordan ;  she  died  several  years  ago,  and  of -this 
marriage  an  only  son,  Albert  C.  Clark,  survives.  His  private 
charities  were  very  large  and  widely  distributed,  and  it  does  not 
seem  that  great  wealth  could  be  placed  in  better  hands.  He  died 
in  1882,  leaving  an  estate  valued  at  $25,000,000. 


JOHN   W.   GARRETT. 

THERE  are  few  men  living  who  have  done  more  for  the  material 
advancement  of  their  natal  city  than  John  W.  Garrett  of  Balti- 
more. Unlike  so  many  of  the  wealthy  men  of  this  era  he  was 
not  a  poor  boy ;  it  was  not  his  fate  to  work  on  a  sterile  farm,  to 
acquire  a  limited  education  by  stealth,  and  to  delve  through  his 
youth  and  early  manhood  in  depressing  labor  for  poor  pay,  with 
little  promise  of  a  better  future.  Mr.  Robert  Garrett,  his  father, 
was  one  of  the  richest  and  most  enterprising  merchants  of  Balti- 
more, when  his  second  son,  John  W.,  was  born,  on  the  3ist  of  July, 
1820.  With  ample  means  to  secure  the  boy  every  comfort,  and 
even  luxury,  his  education  was  carefully  attended  to,  and  after 
studying  at  the  preparatory  schools  of  his  native  city  he  completed 
his  education  at  Lafayette  College.  Pennsylvania. 

When  nineteen  years  of  age  he  was  taken  into  the  business 
firm,  consisting  of  his  father  and  his  elder  brother  Henry:  the 
firm-name  being  "  Robert  Garrett  &  Sons."  The  business  of  the 
elder  Garrett  had  already  reached  very  wide  limits ;  his  foreign 
trade  was  large,  and  he  had  very  extensive  connections  with  the 
western  country;  and  it  was  through  observing  the  difficulties  of 
transport  from  the  seaboard  to  the  interior,  and  especially  beyond 
the  Allegheny  Mountains,  that  first  attracted  Mr.  Garrett's  atten- 
tion to  improved  modes  of  conveyance  for  freight.  For  years 
after  the  establishment  of  the  mercantile  firm  of  Robert  Garrett 
&  Co.,  the  only  method  of  conveying  goods  over  the  laborious 
mountain  roads  was  in  those  strong  and  capacious,  but  slow  and 
unwieldly,  "  Conestoga  wagons." 

It  may  be  surmised  with  what  pleasure  the  first  attempts  to  in- 
troduce a  more  expeditious  system  were  watched  by  this  enterpris- 
(746) 


JOHN    W.    GARRETT. 


JOHN     W.     GARRETT. 


74; 


ing  firm  when  it  was  first  proposed  to  build  a  railroad,  with  its 
southern  terminus  in  Baltimore,  with  the  distant  hope  of  extending 
it  to  the  Ohio.  The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  on  this  route  were 
very  great,  on  account  of  the  steep  grades  and  the  sharp  curves 
which  were  necessary  even  in  the  first  two  miles  outside  of  the 
city.  And  even  after  the  road  was  partially  built  the  promoters 
of  it  feared  that  no  engine  could  be  built  which  would  over- 
come these  difficulties,  and  horses  were  used  to  draw  the  cars  for 
some  time ;  but  at  the  moment  of  their  deepest  depression  there 
happened  to  be  in  Baltimore  a  citizen  of  New  York,  who  had 
great  faith  in  the  road.  He  built  the  engine,  attached  it  to  an  open 
car,  invited  the  directors  to  accompany  him,  acted  as  engineer 
himself,  and  safely  made  a  trip  of  thirteen  miles  and  back,  on 
which  were  some  sharp  curves  and  high  grades,  and  thus  demon- 
strated the  complete  feasibility  of  operating  the  road  successfully. 
That  man  was  Peter  Cooper,  and  this  trip  was  made  on  August 
28,  1830.*  Previous  to  the  inauguration  of  this  road  there  had 
been  none  built  in  the  United  States,  except  a  short  strip  from 
Ouincy,  Massachusetts,  to  Boston,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
stone  from  the  former  place  to  build  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument 
— this  was  used  in  1827. 

On  July  4,  1828,  the  corner  stone  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
was  laid  with  impressive  ceremonies  by  Charles  Carroll,  of  Car- 
rollton,  the  last  surviving  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. This  was  the  first  road  opened  for  general  freight  and 
passenger  traffic  in  the  United  States.  The  Garretts,  father  and 
sons,  were  large  stockholders  in  the  pioneer  railroad,  which  prom- 
ised such  enlarged  facilities  for  their  business,  when  placed  upon 
a  firm  and  reliable  basis ;  but  it  advanced  slowly,  and  for  the  first 
twenty  years  of  its  existence  was  ever  struggling  with  financial 
difficulties,  and  it  was  not  until  1853  that  the  company's  rails 
reached  the  grand  point  of  their  expectation — the  Ohio  river,  at 
Wheeling,  a  distance,  which  now  seems  almost  trivial,  of  three 

*  See  sketch  of  Peter  Cooper. 


748  JOHN     W.    GARRETT. 

hundred  and  seventy-nine  miles.  But  this  passed  through  a  rich 
mineral  and  agricultural  country,  and  proved  more  remunerative 
than  even  its  projectors  had  dared  to  hope ;  but  still  the  manage- 
ment was  not  of  the  best,  and  a  few  years  later,  about  1857,  Mr. 
John  W.  Garrett  began  to  take  a  more  active  interest  in  its  affairs. 
His  suggestions  and  counsels  appeared  to  be  so  wise  and  far-see- 
ing that  he  was  in  1858  chosen  President,  and  from  that  time  for- 
ward the  prospects  of  the  road  began  to  brighten :  hitherto  the 
great  lack  had  been  the  want  of  sufficient  capital,  but  this  impe- 
cunious state  was  soon  to  be  changed  into  prosperity. 

No  sooner  had  Mr.  Garrett  got  the  reins  into  his  own  hands 
than  he  began  a  system  of  branch  extensions :  tapping  here  and 
there  manufacturing  and  agricultural  districts,  which  immediately 
became  profitable  freight  patrons  of  the  road.  He  had  naturally 
large  administrative  abilities,  and  thoroughness  in  every  depart- 
ment soon  became  the  order  of  the  day.  He  began  by  a  careful 
examination  of  the  condition  of  the  road,  closely  observing  its 
capabilities ;  and  one  of  the  first  branches  built  was  that  to  Pitts- 
burg,  the  trade  of  which  was  thus  brought  to  Baltimore.  This 
enterprise  soon  led  him,  as  other  roads  were  built,  to  lease  such  as 
would  benefit  his  own,  where  this  was  practicable,  and  where  not, 
to  enter  into  such  amicable  relations  with  other  companies  as 
would  tend  to  their  mutual  benefit.  From  the  moment  of  his 
presidency  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  road  took  an  onward  bound 
of  prosperity  which  it  still  maintains. 

One  of  the  great  points  appreciated  by  Mr.  Garrett,  in  his  esti- 
mate of  the  advantages  of  the  Baltimore  terminus,  was  the  fact 
that  from  any  part  of  the  west,  southwest,  or  northeast,  tide-water 
could  be  reached  much  quicker  than  by  any  other  route  lying 
north  of  it.  Thus  from  Chicago  to  New  York,  via  the  New  York 
Central  Railroad,  is  980  miles ;  by  the  Erie  road  it  is  961  ;  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  it  is  899 ;  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  it  is 
only  815  miles  to  Baltimore;  the  latter  port  being  nearer  to  Chi- 
cago by  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  miles  than  New  York.  From 


JOHN     W.     GAKRETT.  749 

other  points  in  the  west  a  similar  or  greater  saving  of  distance  is 
made.  Conceiving  from  these  facts  that  western  freight  ought 
naturally  to  gravitate  to  Baltimore  rather  than  to  any  other  Atlan- 
tic port,  Mr.  Garrett  caused  a  marine  depot  to  be  established  at 
Locust  Point,  on  the  northwest  branch  of  the  Patapsco  river,  which 
is  the  head  of  tide-water  in  that  direction,  and  has  the  advantage 
of  being  opposite  the  great  "  Canton  District "  of  the  city,  where 
some  thirty  leading  industries  are  followed  on  a  large  scale ;  and 
to  this  great  manufacturing  district  Mr.  Garrett  established  ferry 
communication  with  boats  having  rails  laid  for  the  freight  cars, 
which  could  thus  be  loaded  and  run  on  the  main  road  without 
transfer  of  goods,  after  once  loading,  to  any  point  on  the  Bal- 
timore &  Ohio  road.  Not  only  this,  but  he  erected  at  Locust 
Point  immense  grain-elevators  for  the  use  of  the  export  trade, 
built  piers  for  the  accommodation  of  foreign  vessels,  and  after  the 
close  of  the  war  in  1865  started  a  line  of  steamers  to  Liverpool; 
but  trade  had  not  sufficiently  sought  this  direction  at  that  time, 
and  the  first  essay  was  not  a  great  success ;  but  as  the  combina- 
tions of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  were  extended,  and 
freight  for  exportation  came  forward  in  greater  abundance,  another 
and  completely  successful  line  of  steamers  was  inaugurated.  This 
was  the  North  German  Loyds  to  Bremen  via  Southampton,  and 
was  arranged  for  the  bringing  of  emigrants  as  well  as  freight. 
These  proved  so  profitable  that  it  induced  the  establishment  of 
another  line — the  Allen,  making  the  ocean  voyage  via  Halifax. 

The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  which  was  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  last  thirty  years  of  Mr.  Garrett's  life,  that  to  men- 
tion  the  one  immediately  suggests  the  other,  holds  a  peculiar  posi- 
tion in  the  history  of  railroads  in  this  country;  being  largely 
owned  by  the  city  of  Baltimore,  which  is  the  largest  stockholder 
in  the  company,  which  originally  owned  stock  to  the  value  of 
$3,250,000,  which  pays  ten  per  cent.,  and  as  the  city  pays  on  her 
loan,  caused  by  this  investment,  only  six  per  cent.,  she  annually 
makes  $130,000,  which  is  so  much  saved  to  the  tax-payers  of  the 


750  JOHN     W.    GARRETT. 

city.  Baltimore  now  owns  over  $5,000,000  of  stock.  The  interests 
of  the  city  and  the  railroad  are  such  that  nothing  can  benefit  the 
one  without  a  sympathetic  effect  upon  the  other.  Hence,  there  has 
been  on  the  part  of  the  city  no  grudging  of  facilities  for  the  expand- 
ing business  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  At  Locust  Point 
the  railroad  company  occupies  three  thousand  six  hundred  feet  of 
water-front ;  and  in  the  western  part  of  the  city,  at  Mount  Clair,  are 
the  great  work-shops,  where  everything  called  for  in  the  construction 
or  equipment  of  a  railroad  is  made,  from  iron  bridges  and  locomo- 
tives to  the  smallest  article  of  decoration  or  use.  Sixteen  hun- 
dred hands  are  employed  in  the  works  at  Mount  Clair. 

Baltimore  has  had  not  a  few  citizens  who  have  enthusiastically 
worked  for  her  advancement,  especially  aiming  to  make  the  beau- 
tiful city,  at  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  a  grand  commercial  cen- 
tre, but  among  them  all  there  was  no  more  devoted  son  than 
John  W.  Garrett.  Under  his  direction  there  was  not  a  rail  laid  or 
a  spike  driven,  or  a  dollar  invested  anywhere  between  the  seaboard 
and  St.  Louis  which  was  not  designed  to  react  on  Baltimore,  and  to 
push  that  enterprising  place  a  few  steps  higher  in  the  scale  of  At- 
lantic sea-ports.  Among  the  many  improvements  introduced  in 
the  management  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  under  the 
Presidency  of  Mr.  Garrett,  was  the  policy  of  establishing,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  company,  good  hotels  at  various  points  on  the 
road,  these  being  supervised  by  persons  in  the  employ  of  the  di- 
rectors ;  and  in  these  travellers  found  good  accommodations,  the 
object  of  their  establishment  being  to  induce  travel  over  this  road 
in  preference  to  others.  Another  very  excellent  plan  of  securing 
faithfulness  on  the  part  of  certain  classes  of  employes  was  the 
giving,  at  designated  intervals,  of  a  money  premium  to  such  as 
were  found,  on  inspection,  to  have  their  special  department  in  the 
most  effective  condition.  This  included  all  officers  having  the  over- 
sight of  the  machinery  and  transportation,  the  condition  of  the 
tracks,  and  all  those  parts  of  this  great  whole  on  which  depend 
the  safety  of  passengers,  and  the  order  and  speed  of  conveyance 
either  of  persons  or  freight. 


JOHN     W.    GARRETT.  751 

In  1877  an  express  company  was  organized,  and  an  express 
messenger  sent  out  with  every  train,  a  great  advantage  to  the 
patrons  of  the  road.  Superior,  however,  to  any  other  of  the  many 
advantages  which  have  grown  out  of  the  ambition  of  President 
Garrett  to  make  his  railroad  system  the  peer  of  any  other  in  the 
country,  was  his  proposition  to  establish,  in  connection  with  it,  a 
perfect  telegraph  system  for  its  whole  length.  Mr.  Garrett  stated 
in  June,  1882,  that  the  success  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Telegraph 
Company  had  attracted  much  favorable  comment,  and,  as  an  in- 
stance, said,  that  over  the  direct  line,  from  the  Board  of  Trade  in 
Chicago  to  the  Corn  and  Flour  Exchange  of  Baltimore,  "  transac- 
tions had  been  made  and  orders  executed  and  recorded  within 
three  minutes ;  and  that  over  their  lines  between  Cincinnati  and 
St.  Louis  similar  rapid  work  had  been  accomplished."  In  fact, 
such  had  been  the  growth  of  this  telegraph  adjunct  to  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  Railroad  that  on  many  of  its  lines  in  1882  they  were 
operating  sixteen  wires,  with  a  prospect  of  having  to  enlarge  their 
plant. 

President  Garrett  did  much  for  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  for  its 
western  connections;  he  did  also  amazingly  well  for  himself; 
but  in  all  his  business  enthusiasm  and  personal  ambition,  he 
did  not  forget  those  humbler  sons  of  toil,  without  whose  mus- 
cle and  brains  his  far-seeing  visions  could  not  have  been  made 
realities.  Desiring  to  do  something  for  the  mental  culture  and 
entertainment  of  his  many  employes  and  workmen  at  Mount 
Clair,  a  reading-room  was  established  in  December,  1869;  this 
was  fuwiished  with  newspapers,  magazines,  and  about  a  thousand 
bound  volumes.  Though  many  of  those  for  whom  it  was  intended 
availed  themselves  of  these  advantages,  it  was  observed  that  a 
considerable  number  of  the  men  never  entered  the  building.  Dis- 
cussing this  matter  with  a  friend,  Professor  Newell  Martin,  the 
decision  was  arrived  at  that  something  of  a  more  social  nature  was 
needed  to  rouse  some  natures  to  any  intellectual  exertion  what- 
ever. When  Professor  Martin  suggested  that  lectures  had  proved 


752  JOHN     W.     GARRETT. 

very  attractive  to  working-men  in  England,  Mr.  Garrett  cordially 
responded  to  this  suggestion  and  held  himself  ready  to  forward  it 
in  any  way  that  was  needed.  The  result  of  this  conference  was 
that  a  course  of  lectures  was  organized  for  the  month  of  February, 
1882  ;  President  Garrett  announcing  in  a  circular  addressed  to  the 
"  Employes  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,"  that  a 
course  of  free  lectures  would  be  given  in  Hollin's  Hall,  and  that 
the  wives  and  daughters  of  employes  were  also  free  to  attend 
thern.  That  President  Garrett  did  not  underrate  the  mental  cali- 
bre of  his  workmen  may  be  judged  from  the  choice  made  of  lec- 
turers and  subjects.  The  first  given  was  by  Professor  Martin,  of 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  on  the  anatomical  subject  of  "  How 
Skulls  and  Backbones  are  Built."  The  second  was  by  Dr.  Henry 
Sewell,  on  "  How  We  Move ; "  the  third  by  Dr.  Sedgewick,  on 
"Formation;"  and  another  by  Dr.  Brooks,  on  "Some  Curious 
Kinds  of  Animal  Locomotion;"  all  scientific  subjects.  President 
Garrett  interested  himself  so  much  in  this  matter  as  to  be  present 
on  each  occasion  and  introduced  the  lecturers.  At  the  close  of  the 
series,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Conway,  the  foreman  of  the  company's 
foundry  at  Mount  Clair,  a  resolution  of  thanks  was  passed  both  to 
President  Garrett  and  the  lecturers,  by  the  delighted  and  grateful 
audience.  In  response,  Mr.  Garrett  stated  that  he  hoped  in  other 
seasons  to  have  a  similar  course  on  other  subjects,  and  that  here- 
after arrangements  for  such  may  be  regarded  as  a  feature  con- 
nected with  the  service  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Com- 
pany. Subsequently  President  Garrett  published  these  lectures  in 
a  brochure,  and  distributed  these  gratuitously  among  the  workmen. 
Mr.  Garrett  was  not  one  of  those  persons  who  think  material  suc- 
cess and  prosperity  the  whole  of  life.  He  had  the  true  interests 
of  Baltimore  at  heart,  and  was  as  ready  to  promote  its  moral  cul- 
ture as  its  secular  progress.  Among  other  institutions  which  he 
favored  with  his  influence  and  largely  aided  with  his  money  was 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  which  was  founded  in 
1853.  On  the  occasion  of  the  thirteenth  anniversary  of  the  asso. 


JOHN     W.     GARRETT.  753 

elation  he  addressed  them,  stating  some  facts  which  incidentally 
show  his  own  share  in  the  progress  they  had  made.  In  1870  he 
had  assisted  in  raising  a  fund  of  $237,000  for  the  erection  of  the 
elegant  building  they  now  occupy.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that 
he  stated  that  he  had  undertaken  to  get  a  good  round  subscrip- 
tion towards  the  object  from  his  friend,  Johns  Hopkins.  But  it 
so  happened  that  on  the  very  day  on  which  he  was  to  present  the 
subject  to  him  the  two  friends  were  present  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Baltimore  Copper  Company,  of  which  both  were  large  stock- 
holders ;  at  this,  meeting  losses  were  reported,  of  which  about  six 
hundred  thousand  dollars  must  be  shared  between  Mr.  Garrett 
and  Mr.  Hopkins.  This  fact,  however,  did  not  prevent  Mr.  Gar- 
rett from  bringing  before  his  friend  the  claims  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  Mr.  Hopkins  did  not  bear  the  loss  of  money 
with  absolute  equanimity,  and,  naturally  enough,  said:  "That  with 
the  recent  large  loss  which  had  befallen  him  he  did  not  think  it 
a  proper  time  to  consider  the  subject."  But  Mr.  Garrett  having 
made  his  own  subscription  finally  persuaded  Mr.  Hopkins  to  put 
his  name  down  for  $10,000,  leaving  space  for  the  latter's  name  at 
the  head  of  the  list,  and  with  these  two  subscriptions  to  start  with, 
the  final  success  of  the  project  was  assured. 

But  whatever  Mr.  Garrett  may  have  done  in  other  directions  it 
was  undoubtedly  as  the  active,  enterprising  head  of  the  grand 
railroad  system  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  that  his  name 
will  be  longest  remembered  in  the  city  of  his  birth ;  so  many  and 
widely  extended  interests  have  grown  out  of  this,  the  commerce 
and  general  prosperity  of  Baltimore  have  been  so  largely  in- 
creased by  it,  that  one  can  scarcely  walk  in  any  part  of  the  city 
without  coming  across  some  evidence  of  the  beneficial  stimulus 
growing  out  of  Mr.  Garrett's  progressive  views*  He  took  great 
pride  in  the  fact  that  the  railroad  company  of  which  he  was  presi- 
dent had  issued  no  watered  stock,  and  paid  no  interest  on  any  hy- 
pothecated bonds;  everything  was  genuine  and  on  a  sound  basis, 
having  for  years  paid  semi-annual  dividends  of  five  per  cent.  The 
48 


754  JOHN    W.     GARRETT. 

Fifty-seventh  Annual  Report  shows  a  high  degree  of  prosperity. 
From  the  main  stem  and  its  branches  for  the  year  ending  Octo- 
ber i,  1883,  was  received  a  revenue  of  $19,739,837.93;  an  increase 
of  nearly  $1,400,000  as  compared  with  the  preceding  year,  and 
an  increase  of  over  $5,500,000  over  1879.  The  surplus  fund 
amounts  to  $45,763,479.89,  which  sum  is  not  represented  by  either 
bonds  or  stock.  The  earnings  in  1883,  over  expenses,  were  $5,432,- 
183.45.  Very  heavy  losses  were  incurred  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad  during  the  effort  of  that  company  to  put  the  Marietta 
&  Cincinnati  Railroad  on  a  good  financial  basis;  but  this  road, 
acting  as  a  feeder  to  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  is  now  fully  compen- 
sating for  the  outlay ;  the  advantage  arising  principally  from  the 
fact  that  in  that  section  western  shippers  can  get  their  freight  to 
Baltimore  over  a  line  of  but  five  hundred  and  seventy-nine  miles ; 
while,  if  sending  to  New  York  by  the  Central,  they  must  pay  rates 
for  eight  hundred  and  sixty  miles.  On  this  point  Mr.  Garrett 
had  something  of  a  controversy  with  his  great  railroad  rival,  Wil- 
liam H.  Vanderbilt,  in  1881,  and  in  a  pamphlet,  entitled,  "Reply 
of  John  W.  Garrett,  President  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad 
Company,  to  William  H.  Vanderbilt,  President  of  the  New  York 
Central  &  Hudson  River  Railroad  Company,"  Mr.  Garrett  dis- 
cussed the  ill-policy  of  cutting  rates  to  injure  other  roads;  charged 
his  rival  with  a  wish  to  dominate  the  whole  country  ;  claimed  the 
right  to  carry  freight  even  to  New  York  (a  point  disputed  by  Mr. 
Vanderbilt),  and  showed  that  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Com- 
pany could  operate  its  line  cheaper  than  the  Central,  because  "  it 
runs  a  great  portion  of  the  distance  through  most  valuable  coal 
fields.  While  the  New  York  Central  is  paying  from  three  to 
five  dollars  a  ton  for  its  coal  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  can  bring  it 
right  out  of  the  pit  and  dump  it  into  the  car  of  the  engine,  at  a 
cost  possibly  of  eighty  to  ninety  cents  a  ton.  The  advantage  it 
has  in  fuel  far  overbalances  any  advantage  the  New  York  Central 
may  have  in  grades."  Mr.  Garrett  also  claimed  the  right  to  make 
rates  correspond  to  geographical  distances,  which  was  not  admitted 


JOHN     W.     GARRETT.  755 

by  his  rival.  On  this  point  he  wisely  says :  "  It  is  not  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio,  or  the  Pennsylvania,  or  the  New  York,  Lake  Erie 
&  Western,  or  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Company,  but  it 
is  the  interests  of  the  vast  populations  connected  with  these  lines, 
and  the  source  of  the  commerce  of  the  country,  that  are  entitled 
to  and  will  have  the  cost  of  transportation  adjusted  in  proper  rela- 
tion to  distance." 

John  W.  Garrett  was  for  nearly  thirty  years  at  the  head  of 
this  great  railway  system,  and,  as  we  have  shown,  he  had  a  true 
and  just  appreciation  of  the  duty  he  owed  the  public  in  a  place  of 
such  responsibility. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  re-election  he  remarked :  "  When  I 
became  your  executive  in  1858  the  length  of  the  road  under 
your  control  was  but  514  miles,  and  it  had  cost  $32,000,000; 
now  the  properties  owned  and  controlled  by  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Company  aggregate  1,995  miles,  and  these  have  cost  over 
$134,000,000.  At  the  close  of  the  first  fiscal  year  of  the  present 
administration  the  total  revenues  were  $4,301,000;  for  the  last 
fiscal  year  they  have  been  nearly  $20,000,000 ;  while,  therefore, 
neither  wishing  nor  intending  to  continue  much  longer  in  the  im- 
portant position  to  which  you  have  for  so  many  successive  years 
called  me,  yet,  with  strong  desire  to  secure  the  interests  with 
which  we  have  been  so  long  identified,  I  again  accept  the  trust 
which  you  tender  with  so  much  cordiality  and  unanimity." 

In  the  beautiful  suburb  of  Clifton,  which  lies  upon  high  ground 
overlooking  the  city  and  bay,  Mr.  Garrett  owned  a  very  large  tract 
of  land,  upon  which  was  erected  his  elegant  residence,  nearly  op- 
posite the  old-fashioned  mansion  so  long  occupied  by  the  deceased 
millionaire,  Johns  Hopkins.  The  whole  region  thereabout  is  park- 
like,  and  a  beautiful  drive  connects  this  section  with  the  famous 
Druid  Hill  Park.  Here  Mr.  Garrett  dispensed  a  liberal  hospital- 
ity. He  was  a  patron  of  the  fine  arts ;  was  a  director  of  the 
Peabody  Institute,  and  also  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University.  He 
died  at  Deer  Park,  Md.,  September  2,  1884. 


BENJAMIN    HOLLIDAY. 

BENJAMIN  HOLLIDAY,  the  wealthy  express  man,  was  originally  a 
poor  boy  living  in  Western  New  York,  but  emigrating  betimes  to 
what  was  known  forty  years  ago  as  the  "  Far  West,"  before  Cali- 
fornia was  thought  of.  He  passed  through  many  changes  of  loca- 
tion and  occupation,  as  also  some  curious  vicissitudes  of  fate, 
before  he  struck  upon  the  line  of  business  which  was  the  starting- 
point  of  his  prosperity.  In  his  connection  with  the  Overland 
Mail  Express  Company  was  laid  the  foundation  of  his  fortune, 
and  out  of  it  has  grown  the  claim  which  he  prosecuted  before 
Congress  for  seventeen  years,  and  which,  as  it  is  not  yet 
finally  adjusted,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  trace  since  1866, 
when  his  first  petition  was  presented.  The  Congress  of  that  year 
refused  to  make  good  the  claim,  which  was  for  over  $50x5,000. 
Realizing  that  there  is  nothing  which  a  Congressman  loathes  so 
much  as  a  State  claim,  Mr.  Holliday  very  shrewdly  withdrew  all 
his  papers,  and  the  claim  was  not  heard  of  again  in  Washington 
until  1872.  This  was  a  masterly  stroke  of  policy;  in  the  interim 
new  members  were  elected,  and  what  was  of  more  consequence 
he  was  enabled  at  the  same  time  to  collect  additional  testimony  in 
support  of  his  claim,  so  that  when  he  again  appealed  to  Congress 
he  had  all  the  advantage  of  entering  de  novo,  and  armed  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  kind  of  objections  he  would  have  to  meet,  and 
was  thus  every  way  better  prepared  than  on  his  first  attack. 
Probably  no  claim  has  ever  been  more  thoroughly  lobbied  than  this. 
Three  years  ago,  after  a  long  and  exhaustive  discussion  of  the  whole 
subject,  the  Senate  voted  to  reduce  the  bill  reported  from  the  Com- 
mittee on  Claims,  which  recommended  that  he  should  receive 
$526,739,  to  $100,000.  The  House  of  Representatives  did  worse; 
(756) 


BENJAMIN    HOLLIDAY.  757 

it  was  left  uncalled  on  the  calendar.  In  1880  the  committee  re- 
ported in  favor  of  allowing  Mr.  Holliday  $321,154,  or  $200,000 
less  than  they  had  formerly  done ;  on  what  principle  this  reduc- 
tion was  made  they  did  not  condescend  to  explain,  although  the 
same  gentleman  occupied  the  position  of  chairman  on  both  occa- 
sions. Under  debate  a  motion  was  made  to  reduce  the  allowance 
to  $100,000 ;  but  this  was  lost  and  the  bill  went  over.  In  January, 
1881,  the  Senate  voted  once  more  for  the  payment  of  $100,000, 
and  consequently  his  friends  allowed  the  bill  to  drop.  In  January, 
1883,  the  Senate  voted  to  sustain  the  motion  of  reduction,  but  no 
final  decision  was  reached. 

Mr.  Holliday  was  largely  interested  in  the  railway  system  of 
Oregon,  and  in  other  roads  in  the  Northwest,  and  when  he  found 
the  "thousands"  beginning  to  accumulate,  he  invested  largely  in 
real  estate  in  various  locations ;  but  none  of  these  have  ever  had 
such  a  curious  record  as  the  place  which  he  bought  for  a  home- 
stead years  ago,  and  which,  if  all  the  history  of  it  was  written  out, 
might  form  the  basis  of  a  very  attractive  novel,  or,  perhaps,  trag- 
edy. It  was  in  1870  that  Holliday  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
Westchester  county,  New  York,  which  he  called  "  Ophir  Farm." 
How  he  came  to  select  this  classical  name  is  not  clear:  whether  he 
thought  the  soil  was  so  rich  that  it  might  truly  be  compared  to  the 
"  land  of  Ophir,  where  there  is  much  gold,"  or  through  pleasan 
remembrances  of  the  famous  Ophir  mine,  or  of  the  fortunate  win- 
ner of  certain  stakes  on  the  turf,  is  uncertain  ;  but  at  least  it  had 
a  curious  history,  rich  in  reminiscences  and  lawsuits.  The  farm  lies' 
between  Harrison's  and  White  Plains,  and  a  large  portion  of  it 
may  be  seen  from  the  highway ;  it  is  undulating  land,  with  large 
level  spaces',  and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  groves  is  only  tim- 
bered near  the  public  road ;  there  are  some  farm-houses  upon  it, 
but  the  notable  point  which  attracted  the  eye  of  every  passer  was 
the  gloomy  colossal  mansion  whi^h  stood  on  an  elevation  in  the 
centre  of  a  wide  plain.  On  this  house  Mr.  Holliday  spent  over 
$1,000,000,  and  for  many  years  it  was  one  of  the  wonder-points 


758  BENJAMIN    HOLLIDAY. 

to  the  inhabitants  along  the  shore  of  the  Long  Island  Sound,  and 
the  vicinity  of  Rye  and  White  Plains. 

Mr.  Holiday's  estate  consisted  of  seven  hundred  acres,  and  the 
remarkable  house  built  upon  it  was  erected  in  1870-71.  It  was 
square,  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  on  each  side,  with  several 
wings  or  annexes.  On  one  side  was  a  balcony  and  a  colossal 
porch.  The  general  style  of  architecture  was  English:  the  ma- 
terial was  a  dark-gray  granite,  which  gave  it  a  decidedly  severe 
appearance.  Isolated  as  it  was,  the  general  effect  was  very  im- 
pressive, and  if  it  had  been  on  a  more  rugged  elevation  would 
have  reminded  one  of  the  home  of  a  German  Freiherr,  or  an  Eng- 
lish feudal  baron.  The  prospect  from  it  was  most  extensive  and 
pleasing — extending  from  the  Sound  to  the  Hudson  river.  At 
some  little  distance  from  the  house  stood  a  small  but  very  beauti- 
ful white  marble  chapel  which  Mr.  Holliday  built  expressly  for  his 
wife,  who  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  who,  while  she  lived,  wor- 
shipped in  it. 

This  whole  property  was  in  litigation  for  many  years.  When 
Mr.  Holliday  lived  on  the  place  it  was  usually  known  as  the  "  Buf- 
falo Farm,"  since  the  owner  kept  several  of  these  animals  on  the 
grounds.  For  several  years  "Ophir  Farm"  was  leased  to  Mr. 
Garrett  Roach,  son  of  the  famous  shipbuilder,  who  afterwards 
bought  it.  The  history  of  this  farm  was  a  curious  one.  In  1871 
Mr.  Holliday  conveyed  this  property  to  his  wife,  upon  the  condition 
that  she  execute  a  will  giving  him  back  the  property  at  her  death. 
This  she  agreed  to  do,  and  actually  made  a  will  in  accordance  with 
this  agreement;  but  before  her  death,  which  occurred  in  1873,  she 
made  another  will,  bequeathing  all  her  property  to  her  children 
and  to  others.  On  this  last  will  being  presented  for  probate  by 
her  heirs,  the  first  will,  with  the  written  agreement  annexed,  was 
also  submitted  to  the  surrogate,  who  very  justly  decided  that  equity 
demanded  the  execution  of  the  first  ^vill.  On  this  decision  Mr. 
Holliday  mortgaged  the  property  ro  the  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  New  York  for  the  nominal  sum  of  $10,000. 


BENJAMIN    HOLLIDAY.  759 

Naturally  the  heirs  under  the  second  will  did  not  give  up  their 
claim  without  a  struggle,  and  a  course  of  litigation  was  commenced, 
which  in  due  time  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  insurance  company 
(by  that  confirming  the  surrogate's  decision),  who  foreclosed  their 
mortgage,  and  sold  the  property  to  Mr.  Roach  for  $125,000. 

Mr.  Holliday  had  three  children :  a  son,  who  is  still  living,  and 
two  daughters,  both  deceased.  One  of  these  married  the  Count 
de  Pourtales,  a  member  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  France, 
who  was  for  years  an  attache  of  the  French  Legation  at  Washing- 
ton :  the  other  daughter  also  married  a  Frenchman,  the  Baron  de 
Bussiere,  whose  father  was  a  large  and  wealthy  financier  in  Paris. 
Madame  de  Pourtales  died  suddenly  in  a  sleeping-car,  and  the 
shock  of  the  news  of  her  death  so  overcame  Mrs.  Holliday  that 
she  survived  her  daughter  only  a  short  time.  The  Baroness  Bus- 
siere died  a  few  years  later  at  the  New  York  hotel.  These  two 
women  were  both  buried  in  the  little  chapel  on  Ophir  Farm.  A 
curious  comment  upon  Mrs.  Holliday's  will  was  to  the  effect  that 
one  clause  of  it  excluded  from  its  benefits  any  descendants  of 
hers  who  should  marry  a  foreigner. 

The  other  investments  of  Mr.  Holliday  were  of  a  more  ordi- 
nary nature,  and  had  no  such  romantic  history  as  that  of 
the  "  Ophir  Farm." 

Mr.  Holliday  died  at  Portland,  Oregon,  July  8,  1887. 


s 


DAVID   M.  COLTON. 

ANOTHER  of  the  California  railroad  magnates  was  General 
David  M.  Colton.  He  made  his  fortune  in  hydraulic  mining  and 
went  into  Central  Pacific  when  its  fortunes  were  at  a  low  ebb.  He 
went  in  with  Stanford  and  Crocker  and  shared  all  the  advantages 
of  the  original  projectors  of  that  enterprise.  As  the  head  of  the 
Contract  and  Finance  Company,  he  completed  the  Central  Pacific 
and  built  the  Southern  Pacific.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable 
force  and  ability,  and  his  success  financially  was  as  remarkable  as 
that  of  any  of  the  bonanza  kings.  A  San  Francisco  correspondent 
of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  in  speaking  of  General  Colton,  said  of  him : 

"  David  M.  Colton  was  a  remarkable  man,  and  his  career  was 
characteristic  of  him.  He  came  here  from  Maine  in  1851  a  beard- 
less boy,  and  among  those  strongv  turbulent  spirits,  the  early 
Argonauts,  was  famous  before  his  majority.  He  died  at  forty-six, 
and  had  then  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  been  one  of  our 
leading  and  most  notable  citizens.  Some  of  the  authenticated 
incidents  of  his  career  are  of  as  thrilling  a  character  as  anything 
in  history  or  romance. 

•'  Leading  citizens  here  who  knew  him  then  say  that  at  nineteen  he 
plainly  bore  the  marks  of  character  which  distinguished  him  through 
life — the  massive  under-jaw ;  the  strong,  firm  lines  of  the  mouth, 
denoting  the  iron  resolution ;  the  piercing  eye,  flashing  with  courage ; 
the  stout  neck,  set  upon  a  frame  of  great  strength,  made  him  then, 
as  all  through  life,  a  man  to  be  singled  out  and  remarked  in  a  mul- 
titude. Colton  was  a  law-and-order  man,  and  his  cool  and  steady 
courage,  his  daring  and  determination,  were  the  qualities  which 
marked  him  for  a  peace  officer.  No  sooner  was  he  of  legal  age 
than  the  electors  of  the  county,  by  almost  unanimous  vote,  pro- 
(760) 


DAVID    M.    COLTON.  761 

moted  him  from  the  position  of  under  sheriff  to  that  of  sheriff. 
The  early  sheriffs  of  California  were  remarkable  men ;  men  of 
proved  courage,  coolness  and  determination — they  had  to  be  to 
fill  the  office  or  be  chosen  for  it — and  Colton  was  a  representative 
sheriff.  He  was  a  man  of  influence,  and  power  and  wealth  poured 
in  upon  him.  He  made  a  flying  visit  to  the  East  to  marry  the 
girl  of  his  college-day  love,  Miss  Ellen  M.  White,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Chauncey  White,  of  Chicago. 

"  Shortly  after  Colton's  return  with  his  bride  occurred  an  inci- 
dent which  admirably  illustrates  his  character.  A  valuable  water- 
right  was  claimed  by  a  company  and  coveted  by  the  individual 
miners  of  the  camp.  While  it  was  in  litigation  a  miner,  disregard- 
ing the  injunction  of  the  court,  cut  the  company's  ditch  and  helped 
himself  to  the  water.  He  was  arrested  and  jailed  for  contempt 
of  court.  Popular  sympathy  was  with  him.  The  miners  determined 
upon  his  release.  Fifteen  hundred  of  them  assembled,  fully  armed, 
at  the  jail,  and  demanded  the  release  of  the  prisoner.  Colton  was 
at  the  moment  attending  a  church  fair  which  his  wife,  with  the  few 
other  women  in  camp,  was  conducting  to  assist  the  only  religious 
society  of  the  settlement.  Some  one  rushed  to  him  with  news  of 
the  uprising,  and,  while  the  miners  were  still  clamoring  at  the  jail 
door  for  the  release  of  the  prisoner  and  threatening  to  take  him 
out  if  he  was  not  set  free,  Colton  came  running  hatless  towards 
them,  his  long  red  hair — he  always  wore  it  long,  even  when 
treasurer  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad — streaming  back  from  his 
beardless  countenance.  Cleaving  his  way  through  the  mob  by 
sheer  impetus,  he  rushed  up  the  steps,  and,  planting  his  back 
against  the  door,  confronted  the  angry  throng  of  desperate  and 
armed  miners.  He  commanded  them  in  the  name  of  law,  order 
and  authority  to  disperse  peacefully.  The  response  was  a  clamor- 
ous demand  for  the  release  of  the  prisoner.  '  Never,'  said  the  young 
officer,  calmly ;  '  you  can  only  take  him  over  my  dead  body,'  and  he 
confronted  them  unflinchingly.  The  mob,  momentarily  confounded 
and  cowed  by  his  heroic  mien,  recoiled,  but  soon  returned,  swear- 


DAVID    M.    COLTON. 


ing  that  they  would  have  the  prisoner.  '  Give  up  the  prisoner  !  ' 
shouted  hundreds  of  them,  pressing  forwards  threateningly.  '  I'll 
die  first,'  responded  the  young  sheriff.  'Then  die,  you  -  fool  !' 
cried  the  foremost  rioter,  leveling  his  pistol.  The  sheriff  was  too 
quick  for  him.  His  own  weapon  was  out  and  discharged  in  a 
twinkling,  and  the  leader  of  the  mob  was  carried  off  disabled.  In- 
stantly hundreds  of  weapons  were  drawn,  and  a  volley  was  fired  at 
the  sheriff  from  every  angle  of  attack.  He  stood  undismayed, 
fronting  the  mob  and  returning  their  fire,  throwing  down  one 
revolver  as  soon  as  emptied  and  drawing  another.  Strange  to 
say,  not  a  shot  of  all  those  fired  struck  him,  but  several  of  his 
assailants  were  wounded. 

"It  was  an  unheard-of  thing.  A  mob  of  1,50x5  desperate,  armed, 
and  maddened  men  beaten  off  and  discomfited  by  one  officer,  and 
he  yet  a  youth.  Passion  was  boiling  in  the  hearts  of  the  rioters, 
and  they  soon  returned,  raging,  to  the  attack;  but  in  the  meantime 
the  conduct  of  the  sheriff  had  inspired  others  with  some  of  his 
spirit  and  raised  him  up  supporters.  The  judge  of  the  county, 
the  clerk,  and  a  few  others,  took  their  places  with  him  at  the 
jail  door,  and  when  the  mob  returned  the  battle  was  resumed  on 
more  even  terms,  and  the  defence  was  maintained  till  the  rioters 
were  beaten  off.  Colton  received  two  wounds  ;  several  of  the  mob 
were  killed  and  more  wounded,  and  the  law  was  vindicated  and 
took  its  course  with  the  prisoner.  The  affair  created  a  great  stir 
all  through  the  mines,  and  the  young  sheriff  was  the  hero  of  the 
day.  Governor  Bigler,  in  recognition  of  his  services  for  law  and 
order,  appointed  him  brigadier-general  of  militia  of  northern 
California." 

General  Colton's  was  the  first  mansion  built  on  the  hill  in  San 
Francisco  now  occupied  by  several  railroad  magnates.  It  stands 
just  over  the  brow  of  the  hill,  but  commands  a  magnificent  view 
of  the  bay  and  the  amphitheatre  of  the  foothills  of  the  coast  range 
which  sweep  around  from  the  mouth  of  the  Sacramento  river 
almost  to  the  entrance  to  the  Golden  Gate.  It  is  severely  simple 


DAVID    M.    COLTON.  763 

in  style,  and  affords  the  greatest  contrast  to  the  gaudily  orna- 
mented palaces  near  by.  It  is  built  like  a  Grecian  temple,  with 
nothing  to  detract  from  the  superb  harmony  and  measure  of  its 
proportions.  In  comparison  with  the  other  buildings  it  is  low,  but 
its  two  stories  give  the  impression  of  much  greater  height. 

The  Corinthian  pillars  which  form  the  window-frames,  as  well 
as  the  large  pillars  at  the  main  doorway,  add  to  the  look  of  rich- 
ness and  substantiality.  It  is  always  painted  white,  and  is  thus 
thrown  into  strong  relief  by  the  rich  green  of  the  lawn.  The 
fence  bears  out  the  classical  motive  of  the  entire  place ;  it  is 
higher  than  a  man's  head — the  iron  pickets  being  in  the  form  of 
spears,  and  the  posts  of  the  Roman  fasces.  When  these  are 
painted  black,  with  the  spear-heads  gilded,  the  effect  is  very 
beautiful. 

Mr.  Colton's  mausoleum  is  as  fine  as  the  magnificent  home  he 
once  occupied.  He  died  in  1878,  and  his  widow  erected  in  Moun- 
tain View  Cemetery,  in  Oakland,. just  across  the  bay  from  San 
Francisco,  a  splendid  tomb  to  his  memory.  It  is  a  small  Corin- 
thian chapel,  of  beautiful  snowy  white  Ravaccioni  marble,  twenty 
feet  square  and  thirty-five  feet  high,  a  close  imitation,  in  all  its 
classical  details,  of  the  mansion  in  which  the  widow  now  lives.  It 
stands  on  an  elevation,  the  highest  ground  in  the  cemetery,  which 
brings  out  its  noble  proportions  to  great  advantage.  The  tomb 
is  exactly  opposite  the  entrance  to  the  Golden  Gate,  and  can  be 
seen  from  the  late  residence  of  Mr.  Colton.  It  is  said  that  Mrs. 
Colton  has  a  strong  field-glass  and  is  fond  of  gazing  over  the 
water  upon  her  husband's  last  resting-place.  It  is  the  finest  tomb 
on  the  coast  and  cost  $50,000.  Through  the  bronze  doors,  which 
were  cast  in  Munich,  one  enters  the  interior,  paved  with  fine  mo- 
saic and  lighted  up  in  rich  but  subdued  colors  by  a  large  memorial 
window,  the  gift  of  the  dead  man's  daughter.  The  tomb  itself 
was  the  tribute  of  the  widow,  who  has  spared  no  expense  in  paying 
the  last  honor  in  her  power  to  the  memory  of  her  husband. 


CYRUS   H.   McCORMICK. 

AMONG  the  numerous  American  inventors  there  is  not  one  who 
has  done  more  to  extend  the  area  of  the  intelligent  culture  of  the 
soil,  or  who  has  added  so  greatly  to  the  wealth  of  the  country,  as 
Cyrus  H.  McCormick.  The  immeasurable  difference  between  the 
ancient  emblem  of  the  reaper — the  simple  sickle — and  the  won- 
derful machine  that  now  makes  the  "  great  bonanza  farms  "  possi- 
ble, typifies  the  immense  progress  of  a  full  and  free  civilization 
over  the  haltsavage  hand-labor  of  the  feudal  ages.  More  fortu- 
nate than  many  authors,  Mr.  McCormick  still  lives  to  enjoy  not 
only  the  fame  but  the  solid  rewards  of  his  mechanical  genius. 

Cyrus  Hall  McCormick  is  a  native  of  Virginia,  though  for  many 
years  a  resident  of  Chicago ;  his  ancestors  were  of  that  Scotch- 
Irish  stock,  which  has  sent  forth  so  many  able  men,  prosperous 
and  thrifty  workers  in  all  the  practical  walks  of  life.  Mr.  Robert 
McCormick,  the  father  of  Cyrus,  was  also  a  native  of  Virginia, 
being  born  in  Rockbridge  in  that  State,  and  his  wife  was  a  native 
of  the  neighboring  county  of  Augusta;  her  name  was  Mary  Ann 
Hall,  of  the  same  original  stock  as  the  McCormicks  ;  both  of  these 
families  were  farmers  in  comfortable  circumstances :  Robert  own- 
ing several  farms  with  grist-mills  and  blacksmith  and  carpentering 
shops  on  his  land,  with  every  convenience,  and  machinery  for 
farm-work  which  had  then  been  invented.  Their  eldest  son, 
Cyrus,  was  born  on  the  i5th  of  February,  1809.  At  tnat  time  in 
Virginia  the  facilities  for  education  were  very  limited  ;  there  were 
no  public  schools,  and,  with  the  farming  populations,  private  tutors 
were  not  in  fashion ;  but  with  bright,  intelligent  parents  the  boy 
learned  enough  to  help  himself  by  reading;  and  later  in  life  no 
marked  deficiencies  indicated  the  lack  of  early  school-training. 
(764) 


CYRUS    H.    McCORMICK. 


CYRUS   ii.   M'CORMICK.  765 

He  was  not  overworked  as  poorer  boys  often  are  on  farms,  but 
was  taught  to  be  industrious  and  careful,  and  he  took  a  real  inter- 
est in  all  the  operations  of  the  farm.  His  father  had  tried  to  make 
various  improvements  in  agricultural  implements,  but  had  not  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  any  to  great  financial  profit.  His  son  paid 
much  attention  to  the  best  mode  of  performing  all  the  manual 
labor  on  the  place,  and  very  early  realized  that  there  was  great 
need  of  better  agricultural  ploughs,  reapers,  threshers,  and  so 
forth.  When  only  fifteen  he  invented  a  grain-cradle,  which  he 
successfully  used  on  the  farm.  Cyrus  had  evidently  inherited  his 
father's  inventive  genius ;  the  latter  was  the  patentee  of  several 
valuable  machines,  though  of  none  which  attained  so  wide  a 
celebrity  as  those  of  his  son ;  yet  from  these  the  latter  obtained 
many  hints  which  he  utilized  in  his  own  machines.  The  elder 
McCormick  had  invented  a  threshing-machine,  and  one  for  hemp- 
breaking,  using  the  hydraulic  principle  for  his  motor. 

Young  Cyrus  having  found  his  cradle  a  practical  success,  next 
turned  his  attention  to  the  construction  of  a  hill-side  plough;  this 
was  patented  in  1831,  when  the  future  hero  of  the  wheat  crops  of 
the  land  was  only  twenty-two  years  of  age ;  this  plough  could  be 
used  either  as  a  right  or  left-hand  implement,  and  threw  alternate 
furrows  on  the  lower  side  of  the  slope ;  but,  though  a  great  im- 
provement upon  the  ploughs  then  in  general  use,  it  did  not  satisfy 
the  inventor,  and  he  soon  set  to  work  to  improve  upon  himself, 
and  two  years  later  he  was  enabled  to  patent  a  very  superior  arti- 
cle known  as  the  "  self-sharpening  horizontal  plough."  This  was 
a  very  excellent  invention,  suitable  for  hilly  or  level  ground. 

In  the  same  year  (1831)  the  famous  "reaper"  was  completed, 
though  not  with  all  the  improvements  now  utilized.  On  the  first 
trial  of  the  completed  reaper  several  acres  of  oats  were  harvested 
with  it;  the  next  year  it  cut  fifty  acres  of  wheat.  Slight  defects 
were  observed  which  were  remedied,  and  in  1834  he  applied  for 
and  obtained  his  first  patent  on  his  reaper.  Removing  to  Cincin- 
nati he,  two  years  later,  obtained  a  second  patent  for  certain  im- 


7  66  CYRUS   H.   M'CORMICK. 

provements,  and  then  commenced  to  manufacture"  for  the  market. 
From  1846  to  1848  his  reaper  was  manufactured  in  Brockport, 
Monroe  county,  New  York,  the  manufacturers  paying  the  inventor 
a  royalty  on  every  reaper  sold.  Still  additional  improvements 
called  for  other  patents  ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  close  of  1848  that 
the  McCormick  reaper  attained  the  perfection  which  enabled  it  to 
take  the  lead  of  all  other  reapers  in  this  country  or  Europe.  In 
1847  tnis  successful  inventor  had  removed  to  Chicago,  realizing 
at  that  early  day  that  the  location  of  this  incipient  railroad  centre 
was  destined  in  the  near  future  to  take  the  lead  in  the  com- 
merce of  the  great  Northwest.  In  1848  only  seven  hundred 
of  the  reapers  had  been  made  and  sold,  but  in  1849  fifteen  hun- 
dred were  called  for  and  produced,  and  orders  flowing  in.  But  just 
as  the  farmers  of  the  country  were  waking  up  to  a  perception  of 
the  boon  which  this  machine  was  conferring  upon  the  country, 
Mr.  McCormick  was  destined  to  lose  the  protection  of  his,  patent, 
and  was  forced  to  enter  into  competition  with  a  flood  of  rivals,  not 
all  of  whom  were  either  honest  or  honorable.  Several  of  his  pat- 
ents had  been  procured  in  the  very  incipiency  of  the  invention, 
and  these  had  run  out  by  lapse  of  time,  and  the  later  patents  only 
protected  a  portion  of  the  machine,  and  the  Patent  Office  officials 
refused  to  renew  any  of  the  patents  for  the  curious  but  very  inter- 
esting reason,  that  the  machine  was  of  such  great  value  to  the.  public, 
that  its  protection  was  against  the  public  interest !  Hence,  from  a 
very  early  period  after  the  final  perfectioning  of  the  reaper,  a 
whole  flood  of  competitors  was  let  loose  to  prey  upon  the  property 
of  the  inventor.  But  Mr.  McCormick  was  not  dismayed:  he  only 
set  himself  the  more  resolutely  to  make  the  very  best  machines, 
and  having  the  start  of  his  unscrupulous  rivals  was  enabled  to 
keep  it,  and  does  keep  it  to-day.  In  1882  over  40,000  reapers 
were  made  and  scattered  over  both  hemispheres.  Many  of  these 
harvesting  machines  being  supplemented  with  mowers,  droppers, 
wire-binders,  and  twine-binders,  which  grasp  and  tie  up  a  sheaf  with 
a  neatness,  precision  and  despatch  that  almost  looks  like  magic. 


CYRUS   H.    M'CQRMICK.  767 

As  long  ago  as  1859  the  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson,  in  an  argument 
before  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  stated  that  from  reliable 
statistics  Mr.  McCormick's  invention  had  already  contributed  to 
the  country  an  increased  value  of  $55,000,000. 

The  gigantic  factory  where  these  reapers  are  made  in  Chicago, 
is  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  city,  near  where  the  railroad  lines 
converge,  occupying  the  whole  block  on  the  lake  shore,  bounded 
by  Randolph  and  Dearborn  streets,  the  Western  avenue  and  Blue 
Island.  The  main  buildings  are  400  by  450  feet  and  four  stories 
high,  and  are  arranged  with  more  consideration  for  the  workmen 
than  is  usual  in  such  structures.  These  works  employ  about  1,500 
men,  while  in  the  sale  and  delivery  more  than  5,000  persons  are 
continually  occupied,  and  still  the  demand  is  on  the  increase.  The 
wide 'dispersion  of  these  reapers  may  be  said  to  form  an  endless 
chain  of  American  agricultural  implements  around  the  world,  in 
every  portion  of  which,  wherever  there  is  an  intelligent  farmer, 
there  is  also  a  "  McCormick  Reaper."  Practical  tests  and  compe- 
titions have  decided  the  supremacy  of  these  machines  over  all 
others.  From  the  very  first  trial  Mr.  McCormick  has  never  found 
a  successful  rival.  Other  people  have  made  reaping-machines,  and 
some  of  them  are  very  useful  and  creditable  articles,  but  when 
placed  in  competition  with  the  "  McCormick,"  each  and  all  have 
had  to  take  second  place.  The  first  competitive  trial  occurred  in 
1843,  when  Mr.  Obed  Hussay's  machine  was  brought  forward  with 
great  confidence  at  Richmond,  Virginia.  From  among  the  spec- 
tators a  jury  of  judges  was  selected  by  the  people,  to  decide  upon 
the  merits  of  the  two  reapers.  Without  hesitation,  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  witnesses,  the  superiority  was  awarded  to  the 
"McCormick."  Since  that  time,  prizes  of  all  kinds  have  poured 
in  a  continual  stream  into  the  hands  of  the  fortunate  inventor. 

During  Mr.  McCormick's  early  experiences,  amusing  incidents 
often  occurred  with  people  who  had  little  or  no  faith  in  the  "new- 
fangled machine."  On  one  occasion,  a  trial  of  his  reaper  was 
arranged  to  take  place  on  what  is  known  as  the  Genesee  Flats. 


768  CYRUS  .H.    M'CORMICK. 

Two  neighboring  farmers,  who  thought  that  the  cradles  they  were 
using  were  the  acme  of  harvesting  machines,  hearing  that  the  new 
cutter  was  in  the  lot,  and  having  the  utmost  confidence  that  they 
could  reap  quicker  and  cleaner  than  any  new-fashioned  machine, 
came  "  to  see  the  failure,"  bringing  their  own  cradles  with  them, 
intending  to  show  the  ambitious  stranger  what  they  could  do ;  but 
as  they  reached  the  fence,  and  saw  the  rapid  pace  with  which  the 
McCormick  Reaper  was  travelling  over  the  ground,  and  doing  its 
work  in  a  far  more  complete  style  than  they  had  ever  witnessed 
before,  they  quietly  hid  their  cradles  in  the  crook  of  the  fence,  and 
slipped  away,  saddened  but  wiser  men. 

Of  Mr.  McCormick's  two  brothers,  who  entered  into  business 
with  him  in  1850,  William  S.  died  in  1865  ;  Leander  J.  is  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  McCormick  Harvesting-Machine  Company,  of 
Chicago.  In  1838  Mr.  Cyrus  H.  McCormick  married  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Melzer  Fowler,  of  Detroit.  Mr.  McCormick's  family 
consists  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  eldest  son  now 
(1884)  in  his  twenty-fifth  year  is  engaged  in  his  father's  business, 
and  promises  to  prove  a  worthy  successor  to  the  great  inventor. 
The  family  residence  is  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  in  Chicago, 
but  Mr.  McCormick  has  a  country-seat  at  Richfield  Springs,  New 
York,  where  the  summer  is  usually  spent.  Like  his  Scotch  an- 
cestors, Mr.  McCormick  is  an  adherent  of  the  Presbyterian  faith, 
and  is  a  liberal  giver  to  that  denomination,  and  to  many  un- 
sectarian  charities.  He  is  large-minded  and  liberal  in  his  hospi- 
talities—the very  magnitude  of  his  business  operations  would 
almost,  indeed,  preclude  the  possibility  of  his  cultivating  any  nar- 
row or  petty  views  in  any  sphere  of  his  numerous  charities.  For- 
tunate beyond  most  men  in  his  grand  success,  and  particularly 
fortunate  as  an  inventor  in  securing  the  full  fruitage  of  his  genius, 
he  knows  how  to  appreciate  the  inventive  faculty  in  other  men,  and 
is  always  ready  to  help  young  inventors  in  their  struggles  with  for- 
tune. Mr.  McCormick  is  fairly  entitled  to  the  appellation,  "  ben- 
efactor of  his  race,"  and  his  life  has  been  one  of  great  usefulness. 

(Mr.  McCormick  died  suddenly  at  his  home  in  Chicago  on  May  I3th,  1884,  while  this  book  was 
still  in  the  printer's  hands.) 


JOHN    WANAMAKER. 

JOHN  WANAMAKER  is  a  name  in  Philadelphia  which  commends 
itself  to  many  classes  of  persons.  To  both  rich  and  poor  it  is  a 
household  word.  Linked  by  his  wealth  to  the  circle  of  millionaires, 
he  is  bound  by  still  stronger  ties  to  the  active  Christian  brother- 
hood; and  to  hundreds  of  needy,  both  young  and  old,  whom  he 
has  succored  from  their  wretchedness.  John  was  born  near 
Philadelphia,  in  1838.  His  parents  were  good,  Christian  peo- 
ple, but  had  little  of  this  world's  goods,  and  no  superfluities 
with  which  to  indulge  their  love  for  their  children.  John's  father 
was  a  brick-maker,  and  almost  as  soon  as  the  boy's  little  hands 
were  able  to  lift  a  brick,  his  hours  out  of  school  were  employed  in 
turning  bricks  which  were  placed  in  the  sun  to  dry ;  thus  habits  of 
industry  were  ingrained  in  his  nature  before  he  was  able  to  ap- 
preciate the  benefit  this  would  be  to  him  in  after  life.  When  a  few 
years  older  school  had  to  be  abandoned  fqr  steady  employment, 
but  he  did  not  care  to  stay  in  the  brickyard ;  he  sought  and  found 
a  place  in  a  book  store  in  the  city;  it  was  four  miles  from  his 
home,  and  the  proprietor  offered  him  only  $1.25  a  week;  and 
for  this  sum  he  was  engaged:  having  to  walk  back  and  forth 
morning  and  evening,  making  eight  miles  a  day,  and  contenting 
himself  with  very  simple  lunches  brought  from  home,  adding  to 
these,  sometimes,  a  two-cent  cup  of  milk.  Fortunately  he  had  a 
kind,  cheerful  mother,  whose  approving  smile  encouraged  and  kept 
him  up  with  the  hope  of  better  times  ahead ;  and  her  smile,  when 
he  came  home  at  night,  often  thoroughly  tired  out  with  his  day's 
work,  was,  he  used  to  say,  "  like  a  bit  of  heaven  to  me." 

But  the  book  business  was  not  to  be  John's  role.  He  obtained 
a  position  in  a  clothing  store  at  $1.50  per  week,  and  in  this  place  he 
49  (769) 


770  JOHN     WANAMAKER. 

appears  to  have  found  the  employment  just  suited  to  his  taste  and 
abilities ;  by  his  civility,  promptness  and  generally  obliging  qualities 
he  pleased  both  customers  and  his  employer.  Whatever  he  did 
was  done  with  his  best  will  and  capacity,  and  such  lads  will  be  sure 
to  make  their  way  in  time.  It  was  not  long  before  his  salary  was 
raised,  and  he  began  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  certain  candidate 
for  promotion  whenever  vacancies  occurred. 

Of  course  under  the  strained  circumstances  of  his  early  life  his 
school  education  was  very  limited,  but  he  learned  by  reading  and 
private  study  enough  to  make  him  appreciate  literature  and  the 
good  uses  to  which  it  might  be  applied.  It  is  related  of  him,  how- 
ever, that  his  first  definite  impulse  towards  improving  his  own  edu- 
cation was  through  hearing  a  sermon  in  which  the  speaker  used 
many  words  which  he  did  not  understand  ;  having  a  good  memory 
he  carried  these  words  in  mind  till  he  reached  home,  and  could 
consult  a  dictionary  and  look  up  their  meaning.  Reflecting  that 
probably  the  minister  supposed  that  his  adult  hearers  would  under- 
stand him,  John  Wanamaker  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  as  he  had 
not,  he  must  be  more  ignorant  than  others  of  the  congregation, 
and  forthwith  made  up  his  mind  to  remedy  his  early  deficiencies  by 
ever)'  means  in  his  power ;  and  so  well  did  he  succeed  that  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  undertook,  in  connection  with  another  young 
man,  to  publish  a  small  paper,  which  was  called  "  Everybody's 
Journal :  "  he  did  nearly  all  the  work  on  it  himself  after  store  hours, 
and  early  in  the  morning,  soliciting  for  advertisements,  and  deliver- 
ing the  paper  to  the  subscribers.  We  do  not  know  that  this  proved 
a  grand  success  financially,  but  it  brought  him  into  contact  with  a 
larger  circle  of  business  men,  and  as  he  had  the  happy  faculty  of 
pleasing  every  one  whom  he  met,  he  greatly  increased  the  number 
of  his  friends  among  those  who  can  always  appreciate  energy  and 
push  in  a  young  man. 

Up  to  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  had  continued  in  the  employ- 
ment of  the  clothier;  by  this  time  he  had  saved  a  little  money— 
not  much,  for  he  still  felt  it  necessary  to  assist  his  parents.  Hav- 


JOHN     WANAMAKER.  77! 

ing  got  one  hundred  dollars  that  he  could  spare  from  necessary 
expenses  he  invested  it  in  the  purchase  of  certain  shares  in  an 
estate,  obtaining  credit  for  two-thirds  of  the  value ;  by  subsequent 
negotiations  on  this  basis  he  made  about  $2,000,  and  with  this  he 
commenced  for  himself  in  the  clothing  business.  He  had  offers 
inviting  him  to  invest  in  other  kinds  of  business — some  of  them 
very  alluring ;  but  he  had  the  good  sense  to  "abide  in  the  calling" 
which  he  understood.  The  times  were  not  propitious — it  was  just 
on  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  prophecies  of  failure  were  more 
numerous  than  agreeable  ;  but  he  knew  his  ground  thoroughly  and 
\\as  not  discouraged.  He  employed  no  superfluous  help,  was  not 
ashamed  to  take  down  his  own  shutters,  sweep  the  store,  or  leave 
a  parcel  for  a  customer  himself.  He  also  kept  his  own  accounts : 
a  very  wise  thing  in  the  beginning  of  a  small  business,  as  he  thus 
knew  every  day  just  where  he  stood,  and  knew  where  every  cent 
invested  in  the  business  was  employed. 

Mr.  Wanamaker  had  been  gradually  enlarging  his  business,  and 
when  the  nation's  centennial  approached,  he  was  the  owner  of  the 
largest  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  city.  He  had,  in  the  fif- 
teen years  since  he  commenced  on  his  own  account,  added  other 
branches  of  trade  to  that  of  clothier,  and  in  1876  he  was  the  owner 
of  three  adjacent  stores,  covering  about  seven  acres,  and  giving 
employment  to  three  thousand  persons. 

Would  you  think  this  man  had  time  for  anything  else  than 
money-making?  Hardly;  and  yet  see  in  how  many  ways  his  influ- 
ence has  been  exerted  for  good,  besides  giving  employment  to 
such  an  immense  number  of  people.  He  is  one  of  that  class  like 
Amos  Lawrence,  of  Boston,  who,  rich  as  he  became,  always  put 
his  religion  first,  and  to  whom  "  godliness  "  did  prove  "  profitable 
to  all  things."  More  than  twenty  years  ago,  while  still  embar- 
rassed by  very  limited  means,  John  Wanamaker  went  into  one  of 
the  roughest  sections  of  Philadelphia,  and  opened  a  Sunday-school 
in  a  shop  occupied  by  working  shoemakers  during  the  week.  It 
was  a  sort  of  focus,  where  low  groggeries  flourished,  and  the  most 


772  JOHN     WANAMAKER. 

unruly  elements  abounded ;  to  the  timid  it  looked  even  dangerous 
to  attempt  an  innovation  of  this  sort  in  such  a  neighborhood. 
"  But  the  worse  it  is,"  said  gallant  young  Wanamaken,  "  the  more 
need  for  introducing  the  entering-wedge  of  reform  ;  "  and  there  is 
certainly  no  moral  wedge  more  serviceable  to  begin  with  than  the 
Sunday-school — interest  the  children  and  the  parents  will  follow. 
When  the  warm  weather  came,  his  school  had  increased  so  largely 
that  a  tent  was  erected  for  its  use  with  the  aid  of  Christian  friends. 
The  children  began  to  bring  their  parents  to  visit  the  school,  and 
to  hear  the  singing,  and  none  of  the  rough  population  ever 
attempted  any  disturbance  or  interfered  with  the  teachers.  In 
fact,  Mr.  Wanamaker  soon  made  many  of  them  such  friends,  as 
would  have  become  defenders  had  it  been  necessary.  This  school 
was  called  the  "Bethany  Sunday-school,"  and  has  now  grown  to 
such  proportions' as  have  very  few  in  the  land.  It  numbers  among 
its  attendants  3,000  children.  Naturally,  the  accommodations  had 
to  be  increased,  and  the  "  Bethany  "  school  now  occupies  a  beau- 
tiful large  stone  building ;  the  main  hall  frescoed  in  blue  and  gold, 
with  comfortable  seats,  a  good  library,  and  a  pleasant,  sparkling 
fountain  adorning  the  centre  of  the  room.  Soon  a  church  grew 
up  beside  the  school,  mainly  formed  out  of  families  first  led  out  of 
the  depths  through  their  children's  interest  in  the  Sunday-school. 
Certainly  it  is  not  without  reason  that  this  sentence  is  wrought  out 
upon  the  facade  of  the  Bethany  building :  "A  little  child  shall  lead 
them!"  To  this  good  work  Mr.  Wanamaker  has  contributed 
$60,000. 

In  the  Moody  and  Sankey  meetings  in  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Wana- 
maker was  a  prominent  and  efficient  helper.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  organizers  of  the  Christian  Commission,  and  for  fourteen 
years  has  been  the  President  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation of  Philadelphia,  and  during  this  period  has  contributed 
about  $100,000  to  the  institution  ;  this  office  he  has,  however, 
lately  resigned  on  account  of  his  many  other  engagements ;  but 
he  proves  that  he  has  not  lost  his  interest  in  it,  as  he  has  spent 


JOHN     WANAMAKER.  773 

much  time  in  raising  funds  for  the  enlargement  of  the  library.  A 
few  years  ago  he  established  an  industrial  school  at  his  country- 
place  in  Bethany.  This  very  valuable  institution  aims  to  give  to 
its  pupils  such  an  education  as  will  enable  them  to  earn  their  own 
living,  and  is  for  girls  as  well  as  boys,  of  which  together  there  are 
now  500  under  instruction  ;  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  studies 
there  are  taught  telegraphy,  stenography,  book-keeping,  drawing, 
painting,  skilled  sewing,  embroidery,  and  cooking ;  this  is  presided 
over  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pierson.  Near  to  his  country  residence  he 
has  built  a  church  for  the  convenience  of  his  own  family  and 
neighbors. 

Other  enterprises  not  strictly  charitable  or  religious  have  also 
claimed  his  attention.  At  the  time  of  the  Centennial  Exposition, 
Mr.  Wanamaker  was  naturally  looked  to  as  a  solid  support  to  the 
project,  and  he  took  hold  of  it  with  the  energy  with  which  he 
handled  everything  he  touched.  He  was  Chairman  of  the  Bureau 
of  Revenue,  and  aided  by  the  Board  of  Finance,  raised  the  first 
million  dollars  for  the  project,  which  assured  its  ultimate  success. 
He  was  also  Chairman  of  the  Press  Committee,  and  in  many  ways, 
official  and  unofficial,  aided  to  carry  the  work  to  completion.  Mr. 
Wanamaker  is  a  man  very  much  alive ;  there  is  no  shadow  of 
apathy  or  indifference  in  his  make-up ;  he  is  still  comparatively  a 
young  man,  and  has  the  prospect  of  living  many  years  yet,  in 
which  he  may  hope  to  reap  a  large  harvest  of  gratitude  from  the 
good  seed  of  wisely  charitable  deeds,  which  he  has  been  sowing 
for  twenty  years. 


"JOHNNY"    SKAE. 

IT  is  always  unpleasant  to  have  to  chronicle  a  failure ;  but  to  this 
terminus  an  over-active  imagination  is  apt  to  lead ;  to  be  able  to 
see  things  as  they  are,  and  to  approximate  the  truth  as  to  future 
changes,  is  a  necessary  ingredient  of  success  in  speculative  pur- 
suits. The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  at  one  time  the  most  prom- 
inent figure  among  the  incipient  millionaires  of  California  and 
Nevada.  He  has  seen  the  heights  and  depths  of  the  speculator's 
fortune,  has  entertained  the  bonanza  princes  with  a  lavishness 
unsurpassed  even  in  that  land  of  nouveaux  riches,  and  has  been 
himself  entertained  at  the  city's  expense,  because  unable  to  pay  a 
fine  of  five  dollars,  imposed  by  a  local  magistrate  for  intoxication  ; 
but  the  end  is  not  yet,  and  "Johnny"  Skae  may  some  day  fall 
upon  his  feet  again,  and  astonish  both  friends  and  enemies  by  the 
acquisition  'of  a  fourth  fortune. 

Mr.  John  Skae  is  of  mixed  race ;  a  native  of  Canada,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  parentage.  His  first  appearance  in  the  mining  country,  so 
far  as  is  recorded,  was  as  a  telegraph  operator  in  Nevada,  where  he 
was  mainly  employed  in  transmitting  messages  from  the  company 
working  the  Comstock  lode,  in  its  palmy  days,  to  the  office  in  San 
Francisco ;  much  of  this  information  was  conveyed  in  cipher,  but 
Mr.  Skae  was  not  long  in  getting  at  a  solution  of  these  mysteries, 
and  with  the  knowledge  thus  obtained,  he  was  no  longer  content 
to  remain  recording  the  successes  of  others;  compelled  from 
necessity  to  commence  his  operations  in  the  smallest  way,  yet 
having  the  clue  in  his  hands,  at  this  time  he  could  make  no  mis- 
take, and  by  degrees  he  was  able  to  enlarge  his  operations ;  and 
once  possessed  of  a  few  thousand  dollars,  he  threw  up  his  position 
as  telegrapher,  and  started  for  San  Francisco,  to  enter  the  lists 
(774) 


"JOHNNY"   SKAE.  775 

with  the  veterans  of  the  stock  exchange.  It  was  here  that  Mr. 
Skae's  sanguine  disposition  misled  him ;  feeling  himself  on  the 
sure  road  to  wealth,  he  set  no  bounds  to  his  imagination,  and 
already  pictured  himself  as  distancing  all  his  competitors  in  the 
race  for  gold.  Besides  the  possession  of  a  naturally  sanguine 
temperament,  the  profession  of  telegraphy  probably  assisted  in  the 
development  of  this  peculiar  trait  of  always  expecting  great  things; 
it  keeps  the  imagination  active ;  the  partial  information,  the  hints 
and  suggestions,  the  attempts  at  concealment,  exciting  messages 
and  rejoinders,  all  have  a  tendency  to  keep  the  mind  of  the  operator 
on  the  alert,  and  watchful  for  the  chances  that  he  realizes  some 
are  seizing  and  some  missing,  all  passing  like  a  moving  phan- 
tasmagoria before  his  eyes — real,  if  invisible.  The  very  element 
of  electricity  with  which  the  telegrapher  deals  has  an  effect  upon 
the  nerves,  excites  its  sensibilities,  and  the  speed  with  which  it  acts 
has  its  retroactive  influence  upon  the  operator.  He  too  wants  to 
accomplish  everything  instantaneously ;  plodding  patience  could 
scarcely  be  expected  of  any  one  who  is  in  the  daily  habit  of  using 
modified  lightning  as  a  messenger. 

So  at  least  it  proved  in  Mr.  Skae's  case.  Shortly  after  he  began 
to  deal  in  stocks  he  obtained  the  management  of  the  Virginia  and 
Gold  Hill  Water-Works,  a  company  that  at  one  time  paid  almost 
as  good  dividends  as  the  mines  which  they  supplied,  and  the  posi- 
tion was  one  which  offered  opportunities  for  profit,  of  which  Mr. 
Skae  was  not  slow  to  avail  himself.  At  this  juncture  the  secret 
came  out  of  the  discovery  of  the  "great  bonanza."  Johnny  Skae 
was  wild  with  excitement.  He  had  a  small  quantity  of  the  stock 
when  it  began  to  rise,  and,  as  one  of  his  friends  expressed  himself, 
"Johnny  dashed  at  the  market  with  astounding  recklessness, 
following  the  securities  until  Consolidated  Virginia  was  close  to 
the  thousand  dollar  limit,  and  California  about  as  high."  When 
this  finely-manipulated  "  deal "  struck  bottom  and  the  furore 
abated ;  when  people  had  time  to  look  around  and  pick  up  the 
dead  and  wounded,  Johnny  Skae  was  found  to  be  among  the 


776  "JOHNNY"   SKAE. 

victors,  with  a  clean  $3,000,000  to  his  credit.  Had  he  stopped 
there  and  then,  waiting  until  healthier  times  had  arrived,  it  had 
been  the  better  for  him,  but  the  fever  was  on  him — from  dealing 
in  securities  he  persisted  in  dealing  in  evident  insecurities.  To 
cover  his  operations  he  now  began  to  act  through  brokers,  and, 
worse,  to  defy  luck  by  "doubling  up,"  and  his  margins  became  too 
attenuated  to  bear  the  pressure.  His  $3,000,000  was  fast  melting 
away ;  the  real  properties  he  had  won  with  had  already  become 
speculative,  and  among  these  was  the  Sierra  Nevada  mine,  of 
which  he  was  the  president.  It  had  done  well  at  first,  but  the 
stock  was  fast  getting  down  to  "  bedrock,"  and  Mr.  Skae  wanted 
to  get  rid  of  it.  Other  mines  were  decreasing  in  value  at  the 
same  time.  Something  must  be  done.  What  was  done  we  leave 
those  most  familiar  with  stock  speculations  to  guess.  Mr.  Skae 
started  on  a  journey  ostensibly  to  the  Eastern  States.  He  had 
not  reached  a  third  of  the  way  when  he  was  overtaken  by  a  tele- 
gram informing  him  that  there  were  strong  indications  of  a  "big 
bonanza  "  in  Sierra  Nevada.  He  hired  a  special  train  and  whirled 
back  to  San  Francisco  in  such  evident  haste  and  apparent  excite- 
ment that  public  attention  was  necessarily  drawn  to  the  fact.  He 
made  a  vigorous  charge  on  the  market,  put  all  he  had  into  the 
hands  of  his  brokers,  and,  after  over-shooting  his  margin,  bought 
on  his  broker's  money  until  Sierra  Nevada  stood  at  $278.  He 
had  once  before  played  this  game  with  Consolidated  Virginia  and 
California,  and  the  trick  appeared  to  have  again  succeeded,  and 
for  a  brief  period  he  shone  as  the  bright  particular  star  at  the 
stock  exchange.  Excited  men  called  him  the  "  father  of  the  new 
bonanza,"  and  his  own  visions  helped  to  lure  him  on  to  another 
disaster.  But  for  the  moment  he  stood  supreme  ;  that  there  were 
"millions  in  it"  he  never  doubted,  and  his  sanguine  imagination 
led  him  readily  to  believe  that  he  was  to  become  the  unapproacha- 
ble Croesus  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  if  not  of  the  United  States. 
The  doggerel  poets  set  to  work  to  pamper  his  conceit,  and  'one 
more  inventive  than  the  rest  wrote  a  laudatory  poem,  entitled 


"JOHNNY"   SKAE.  777 

" Johnny  Skae's  Ride,"  in  imitation  of  "Sheridan's  Ride,"  and 
comparing  the  victory  of  the  money  king  with  that  of  the  famous 
cavalryman.  Instead  of  discouraging  fulsome  and  tasteless  flat- 
tery, the  versifier  was  rewarded  with  the  present  of  one  hundred 
dollars,  which  unwonted  compensation  set  all  the  other  rhymsters 
to  work,  and  very  soon  the  impecunious  Bohemians  were  jingling 
gold-pieces  in  their  pockets  in  the  place  of  nickels. 

A  recklessness,  born  of  the  thought  that  he  could  create  a 
boom  in  stocks  whenever  he  chose,  seems  to  have  taken  posses- 
sion of  Mr.  Skae ;  he  did  foolish  and  extravagant  things,  appar- 
ently with  no  other  motive  than  to  be  talked  about.  He  took  to 
poker,  playing  in  a  wild  way,  as  if  determined  to  ruin  others  or 
himself.  It  was  currently  reported  and  believed  that  he  lost  $60,- 
ooo  at  this  game  in  one  night  at  the  Palace  Hotel.  While  out  at 
Virginia  City  his  reckless  expenditures  took  another  form ;  this 
was  fish  dinner  parties  and  champagne.  Fine  trout  and  other  fish 
could  be  caught  in  the  Carson  river,  and  friends  were  invited  by 
the  car-load  to  come  all  the  way  from  San  Francisco  to  Nevada  to 
share  in  these  banquets,  Mr.  Skae,  of  course,  paying  all  the 
travelling  expenses.  These  great  feasts,  for  want  of  room  else- 
where, were  spread  out-of-doors  under  canvas  near  the  great 
reservoir  of  the  Virginia  and  Gold  Hill  water-works.  Hand-fed 
trout,  tame  enough  to  be  easily  caught  by  these  millionaire  anglers, 
were  offered  as  a  mild  "sport"  or  pastime  to  the  invited  guests. 
We  repeat  "  invited,"  for  on  these  occasions,  especially  after  the 
champagne  had  begun  to  flow,  almost  anybody  in  Gold  Hill  might 
join  themselves  to  the  revelers  and  receive  a  hearty  welcome. 
About  these  times  he  was  not  "Johnny,"  but  "  Prince  John."  Dur- 
ing this  flush  period  Mr.  Skae  settled  $250,000  on  his  wife,  but  it  is 
thought  that  when  misfortune  overtook  him  this  too  went  into 
the  abyss  which  swallowed  up  the  rest.  In  these  days  of  pros- 
perity he  was  possessed  with  the  idea  that  Sierra  Nevada  would 
touch  $1,000,  and  on  that  false  basis  he  hypothecated  his  stock  to 
the  Nevada  Bank  and  purchased  several  thousand  additional  shares 


778  "JOHNNY"   SKAE. 

on  a  margin  ;  then  the  tide  turned  and  Sierra  began  to  drop.  Soon 
it  was  quoted  at  $60,  at  $50,  and  less ;  the  crash  came  suddenly, 
and  ruin  stared  Mr.  Skae  in  the  face,  but  instead  of  trying  to  save 
something  from  the  wreck,  he  kept  on  speculating,  after  all  possi- 
bility of  improvement  was  gone,  until  he  had  lost  his  last  dollar. 

After  this  misfortune  trod  hard  upon  his  heels.  He  took  to 
heavy  drinking,  was  taken  to  the  hospital  with  an  attack  of  small- 
pox, and  then  in  jail  as  a  vagrant.  He  afterwards  went  to  Ari- 
zona, aided  to  get  away  by  some  old  friends  ;  and  it  was  recently 
reported  that  he  had  again  rallied,  physically  and  financially,  and 
was  possibly  on  the  way  to  a  new  fortune. 


THOMAS  W.  EVANS. 


DR.    THOMAS    W.    EVANS. 

DR.  THOMAS  W.  EVANS,  the  famous  American  dentist  in  Paris, 
is  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  and  though  so  long  resident  abroad, 
never  forgot  his  republican  home,  or  that  he  was  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  His  family  was  of  Welsh  stock,  and  some  of  his 
ancestors  were  'Quakers ;  he  studied  dentistry  in  the  Dental 
College  of  his  native  city,  and  after  practising  some  time  in  Penn- 
sylvania, was  invited  by  Dr.  Brewster,  then  settled  in  Paris,  to 
come  to  that  city  and  assist  him,  his  clientage  being  too  extensive 
for  one  person.  Dr.  Evans,  besides  being  a  skilful  man  in  his 
profession,  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  "  very  presentable ; "  he 
was  a  handsome  man,  and  possessed  the  one  really  distinguishing 
feature  of  the  royal  houses  of  Europe — very  small  and  finely-shaped 
hands ;  a  great  recommendation,  when  the  hands  are  destined  to 
manipulate  the  interior  of  the  mouth.  He  had  also  a  peculiarly 
fine  set  of  white,  well-formed  teeth,  a  feature  not  easily  overlooked 
when  he  smiled — and  to  smile  was  with  him  a  daily  duty. 

When  the  "  Man  of  December "  had  accomplished  his  coup 
d'etat,  Dr.  Brewster,  desiring  to  retire  from  business,  sold  out  his 
establishment  to  Dr.  Evans,  and  with  it  a  monopoly  of  the  Court 
practice.  Louis  Napoleon  had  not  forgotten  that  his  mother, 
Hortense,  and  his  grandmother,  the  Empress  Josephine,  had  both 
lost  their  teeth  when  comparatively  young  women,  and  he  had  a 
horror  of  suffering  the  same  kind  of  loss ;  hence,  he  was  very 
ready  to  welcome  the  handsome  American  dentist,  whose  manners 
were  more  courtly  than  many  "  to  the  manner  born,"  and  whose 
skill  was  vouched  for  by  his  very  successful  predecessor. 

Dr.  Evans'  office  was  in  the  Rue  de  la  Paix,  and  no  sooner  was 
it  known  that  he  had  been  received  with  favor  at  the  Tuileries, 

(779) 


-So  DR.    THOMAS    W.    EVANS. 

than  his  success  at  Paris  was  assured ;  and  he  might,  if  he  had 
chosen,  been  occupied  every  hour  of  the  twenty-four  by  the  elite 
of  the  Imperial  circle ;  but  he  knew  how  to  make  himself  valued, 
by  not  sacrificing  himself  too  completely  to  business.  He  always 
held  that  he  "  was  a  gentleman  before  he  was  a  dentist,"  and  kept 
his  own  court  in  his  very  agreeable  yet  dignified  way ;  but  every 
morning,  when  the  Emperor  was  in  Paris,  he  was  present  at  his 
toilet,  and  watched  over  the  condition  of  his  teeth  as  sedulously 
as  a  young  mother  for  the  first  incisor  of  her  infant,  and  he  suc- 
ceeded in  preserving  them  until  his  Imperial  patient  removed  from 
the  Tuileries  to  Chiselhurst.  A  more  delicate  office  was  that  of 
supervising  the  dental  anatomy  of  the  Empress.  Eugenie  was  a 
Spaniard  born,  and  though  understanding  the  French  perfectly, 
she  had  never  been  able  to  free  herself  entirely  from  the  Castilian 
accent ;  hence,  though  she  used  the  language  constantly,  she  was 
aware  that  some  of  her  most  obsequious  courtiers  secretly  smiled 
at  her  foreign  pronunciation  ;  but  with  the  English  language,  with 
which  she  had  been  familiar  from  childhood,  she  was  quite  at 
home,  and  consequently  enjoyed  her  daily  chat  with  the  American 
dentist.  He  was  an  intelligent  observer,  and  an  agreeable  conver- 
sationalist ;  with  excellent  tact  and  knowledge  of  human  nature,  he 
knew  what  topics  to  introduce  and  what  to  suppress;  the  Empress 
and  her  English-speaking  dentist  thus  became  very  good  friends. 
Moreover,  Dr.  Evans,  with  all  his  suavity,  was  accustomed  to 
speak  honest  truths  in  the  boudoir  of  Eugenie,  when  he  believed 
that  she  would  not  otherwise  hear  what  she  ou<rht  to  know,  and 

t> 

he  never  so  far  forgot  his  Quaker  training  as  to  dissimulate  or 
flatter  the  Empress  to  her  injury;  there  was  always  sufficient 
undercurrent  of  true  manliness  in  his  nature  to  preserve  him  from 
the  base  sycophancy  which  some  would  have  thought  befitting  in 
a  professional  attendance  upon  crowned  heads. 

It  was  not  only  in  Paris  that  Dr.  Evans  found  royal  patients ; 
his  reputation  led  to  his  receiving  invitations  to  other  capitals  in 
Europe,  to  save  or  restore  the  teeth  of  the  sovereigns  and  those 


DR.    THOMAS     W.    LVAXf1,.  ^$1 

of  their  families ;  and  the  costly  gifts  which  he  received  would 
almost  furnish  an  art  museum  ;  and  some  of  these  souvenirs  were 
likenesses  of  his  princely  patients.  The  Empress  Augusta,  of 
Prussia,  among  other  things  presented  him  with  two  elegant  Dres- 
den vases,  superbly  decorated  with  representations  of  her  own 
royal  residences — one  of  the  castle  at  Potsdam,  and  the  other  of  the 
Stolzenpels.  Ribbons  and  orders  were  presented  him  without  stint, 
and  should  he  wear  all  at  any  one  time  he  would  be  nearly  covered 
with  them :  these  do  not  include,  of  course,  such  orders  as  that  of 
the  "Garter,"  the  "Golden  Fleece,"  or  the  "Black  Eagle." 

During  the  war  of  secession  in  the  United  States  Dr.  Evans 
took  a  noble  and  decided  stand  for  the  Union,  for  despite  his  long 
residence  in  Europe  and  his  constant  intercourse  with  various 
courts,  he  retained  a  warm  love  for  his  country,  and  he  had  the 
hereditary  Quaker  hatred  of  slavery.  The  late  Thurlow  Weed, 
who  knew  him  well,  early  engaged  him  to  use  his  influence  with 
Napoleon,  and  particularly  to  set  the  truth  of  affairs  before  his 
imperial  patient. 

That  Dr.  Evans  was  not  influenced  altogether  by  his  business 
interests  in  his  constant  attendance  upon  the  occupants  of  the 
Tuileries,  was  shown  when  the  reverses  of  the  Franco-German 
war  followed  in  such  quick  succession ;  he  felt  a  real  friendship  for 
Louis  Napoleon  and  Eugenie,  and  showed  himself  to  be  both  a 
brave  and  chivalrous  man  on  that  gloomy  day  in  September,  1870, 
when  after  the  news  of  Sedan  the  "  Republic  "  was  proclaimed  in 
Paris.  Eugenie,  alone  in  the  Tuileries,  was  deserted  by  all  her 
courtiers  and  fair-weather  friends :  the  officials  of  the  palace  fled 
at  the  first  cry  of  "  Vive  le  Republique  !  "  She  knew  not  where 
among  all  her  noble  friends  it  was  safe  to  seek  an  asylum,  when 
the  happy  thought  struck  her  to  go  to  her  friend  Dr.  Evans. 
Fortunately  the  Italian  minister,  who  feared  the  Tuileries  might 
be  sacked,  as  it  afterwards  was,  procured  a  cab  for  the  Empress 
and  her  one  lady  in  waiting.  Arrived  at  his  private  residence 
Eugenie  found  that  Mrs.  Evans  was  out  of  the  city,  and  the  Doctor 


782  1>R.    THOMAS     W.    EVANS. 

temporarily  absent ;  but  so  certain  was  she  that  she  could  trust  to 
his  friendship  that  she  determined  to  remain  there  and  await  his 
coming  rather  than  to  risk  seeking  an  asylum  elsewhere.  His 
servants  had  happily  not  recognized  her,  and  she  passed  for  a 
patient  who  had  sought  him  out  of  the  usual  course,  driven  by  an 
aching  tooth,  to  come  to  his  house,  because  he  had  not  been 
found  at  his  office.  The  Empress  having  in  her  haste  left  the 
Tuileries  without  any  change  of  clothing,  or  even  a  suitable  street 
dress,  Dr.  Evans  did  not  hesitate  to  draw  on  his  wife's  wardrobe 
for  the  necessary  garments ;  he  then  drove  the  Empress  and 
Madame  Lebreton  in  his  own  carriage  to  the  coast  of  Normandy, 
where  he  procured  them  a  safe  conveyance  to  England. 

Thus  to  the  chivalry  of  an  American  citizen  was  the  exiled  Em- 
press indebted  for  her  safe  transit  through  Paris,  and  spared  the 
indignities,  if  not  the  absolute  dangers,  of  possible  recognition 
and  detention  by  the  excited  "  Commune."  It  also  appears  that 
in  the  times  of  prosperity  Dr.  Evans  had  not  failed,  even  to  risk 
offending  his  imperial  patients  by  telling  them  the  true  state  of 
preparation  of  the  German  army,  of  which  he  had  become  informed 
during  his  visits  to  Berlin ;  but  perhaps  it  was  quite  natural  for 
the  Emperor  to  think  these  views  of  the  Doctor  were  dictated  by 
over-anxious  fears  for  the  safety  of  his  patrons,  and  to  conclude 
that  in  all  probability  his  own  officers  knew  better  the  comparative 
condition  of  the  Gallic  and  German  forces  than  any  one  in  civil 
life  had  the  means  of  doing.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  that  Dr.  Evans 
as  an  American  had  such  a  striking  opportunity  of  proving  his 
faithfulness,  and  the  sincerity  of  his  friendship  for  the  fallen  Em- 
press ;  even  better  than  when  in  the  prosperous  days  of  the  em- 
pire he  presented  the  Emperor  with  a  span  of  splendid  American 
horses  from  Vermont,  of  pure  Morgan  stock.  His  wealth  is 
great ;  certainly  no  dentist  in  the  world  ever  had  a  better  oppor- 
tunity to  amass  a  fortune  by  honorable  means,  and  this  he  has 
done.  His  property  being  mainly  in  Europe,  no  exact  estimate 
can  be  made  of  its  amount 


JAMES  W.  HALE. 

» 
JAMES  W.  HALE,  who  calls  himself  the  "father  of  cheap  postage," 

and  in  whose  active  brain  originated  the  germ  of  the  express 
business  in  this  country,  is  one  of  those  men  seldom  heard  of  in 
financial  circles,  but  who  has  been  a  habitue  of  Wall  street  for 
over  forty  years,  and  has  only  recently  changed  his  location  to 
Hanover  street.  In  his  early  life  Mr.  Hale  essayed  to  become  a 
printer,  and  was  for  some  time  a  "  printer's  devil/'  or  boy  of  all 
work,  in  a  printing  office ;  he  stayed  at  the  trade  long  enough  to 
become  a  compositor,  but  concluded  there  were  quicker  ways  of 
making  money  than  by  "  sticking  type ;  "  so  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  what  was  in  a  measure  "  expressing,"  but  it  was  not  la"rge 
packages  that  he  carried  but  letters.  The  postage  on  letters  was 
originally  most  exorbitant,  and  many  of  our  readers  will  remem- 
ber when  eighteen  cents  was  the  charge  for  a  letter  anywhere 
within  the  United  States.  Mr.  Hale  carried  letters  at  a  reduced 
rate,  and  was  frequently  arrested  for  so  doing.  Indeed  this  veteran 
expressman  boasts  that  he  has  been  arrested  more  times  than 
any  other  person  in  the  country,  and  puts  the  number  of  times 
at  four  hundred  and  fifty !  He  is  very  proud  of  having  convicted 
Daniel  Webster  of  inaccuracy  in  stating  that  he  was  a  violator  of 
the  law. 

Mr.  Webster,  understanding  that  he  was  carrying  letters,  had 
said :  "  Mr.  Hale,  you  will  be  in  the  penitentiary  before  many 
days." 

"  No,  Mr.  Webster,"  he  replied,  "  there  is  no  law  that  can  put 
me  in  the  penitentiary,"  and  so  it  proved. 

Being  arrested  in  Baltimore  and  charged  with  carrying  letters 
contrary  to  law,  he  at  once  admitted  the  several  acts  which  had 

(783) 


784  JAMES    W.     HALE. 

been  testified  to  before  Judge  Story ;  but  on  the  district  attorney 
askino-  that  he  be  sentenced  on  his  own  confession,  Mr.  Hale 

^ 

called  the  attention  of  the  court  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  which 
read :  "  Nobody  shall  establish  a  horse  or  foot  post,"  etc.  Mr.  Hale 
submitted  that  he  had  used  neither,  but  had  travelled  by  steam- 
boats and  railroads.  By  thus  cutting  rates  on  letters,  which  was 
becoming  a  common  practice  with  imitators  of  Mr.  Hale,  he  believes 
that  he  forced  the  government  to  reduce  the  postage,  so  as  to 
make  it  unprofitable  for  private  parties  to  attempt  to  outbid  the 
Post-orfice  Department. 

Mr.  Hale  is  still  in  vigorous  health,  and  still  adding  to  the  for- 
tune he  has  rolled  up  by  steady  degrees  in  Wall  street;  he  is  over 
seventy,  and  has  just  been  elected  a  school  trustee,  in  which 
capacity  he  says :  "  If  there  is  any  reform  needed,  I  shall  go  for  it 
— if  I  am  seventy." 


§021      8 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


FEB5     1951 

FEB  1  0 

DEC  1  n 
"JUN     2  J953 


AUG  6      195 
MOV  30 
DECS 


